AI-Adaptive, Manufacturable MOF Adsorber Cartridges for Water Harvesting and Industrial Dehumidification

AI-MAC will develop a new generation of AI-adaptive, manufacturable MOF adsorber cartridges for atmospheric water harvesting and industrial dehumidification, with a strong focus on manufacturability, compact system design and industrial deployment.

The project will build on the successful demonstration of Aqueris’ atmospheric water harvesting technology at a geothermal power plant in Türkiye, where the system demonstrated the ability to use low-grade waste heat for atmospheric water generation under real industrial conditions.

A central innovation of AI-MAC will be the development of a new adsorber cartridge integrating an advanced heat exchanger with a high-performance MOF coating. The cartridge will be designed to improve heat and mass transfer, increase water capture performance and reduce the overall system footprint by more than 50% compared with the current architecture.

Manufacturability will be a core part of the cartridge development. The project will establish scalable and repeatable processes for applying the MOF coating onto the heat-exchanger surfaces, with controlled coating thickness, loading, uniformity and adhesion. Design for Manufacture and Assembly principles will be applied to simplify the cartridge architecture, reduce component count and assembly complexity, and support a future transition toward higher-volume production. Manufacturing quality-control methods will also be developed to assess parameters such as MOF loading, coating consistency, pressure drop, thermal performance and sorption behaviour.

The project will also introduce an AI-based adaptive control platform capable of continuously responding to changes in ambient temperature, relative humidity, available waste heat and real-time system performance. Instead of relying on fixed operating conditions, the system will dynamically adjust parameters such as adsorption and desorption times, airflow, heat input and switching strategy to maintain effective operation across changing environmental and industrial conditions.

AI-MAC will target a water-production capacity exceeding 1,500 litres per day while maintaining efficient utilisation of low-grade and waste heat. In parallel, the same MOF adsorber cartridge platform will be evaluated for industrial dehumidification, demonstrating its potential for humidity control, drying and moisture removal applications.

Industrial validation will be an important part of the project. Aqueris aims to work with a major HVAC or industrial OEM to support integration, testing, manufacturability and future deployment. Target applications include data centres, geothermal energy, agriculture and other industrial sectors where waste heat is available and where water generation, dehumidification or both can provide operational value.