【Watch Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Online】

Clean water is Watch Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Onlinea necessity, but as recent events in Cape Town have shown, securing it isn't so easy.

That looming challenge has led to a competition called the Water Abundance XPRIZE. It's getting teams to build technology which can extract a minimum of 2,000 litres of water per day from the atmosphere, using 100 percent renewable energy, at a cost of two cents a litre.

SEE ALSO: Gravity-defying machine looks like magic — but there’s a scientific answer

One of the five finalists is Behdad Moghtaderi from Australia's University of Newcastle, whose team has developed a process which heats the air first, before cooling it.

"We went into the competition wanting to keep the technology as simple as possible to ensure it would have worldwide applications, especially for developing countries," Moghtaderi said in a statement.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"Atmospheric water generators are usually based on refrigeration cycles that cool the air to below the dew point, the point at which condensation will form. We’re turning that idea on its head. Our process is based on heating the air, not cooling.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

"The first step is to absorb water at night using a desiccant. Then we use solar energy during the day to produce hot, humid air that can then be cooled. The hotter the air, the more water it’s going to hold and then by cooling that hot air, we get water back."

Other entrants include JMCC Wing from Hawaii, which uses a high-efficiency wind turbine to power a commercial atmospheric water generator.

Then there's Chicago's Skydra, where there's not much information much apart from claiming they have a "hybrid solution that utilizes both natural and engineered systems to condense water out of the air."

India's Uravu have also kept mum about their solution, but say they have an "off-grid water from air device, spinning together the magic of material sciences and solar thermal energy."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Finally, a collaboration between the UK's Veragon and ThinAir is developing a material which "rapidly enhances the process of water condensation."

Whittled down from 98 entrants, each finalist will receive a $250,000 prize for getting this far. Their devices be put through their paces in the second round of testing in July, and the winner will receive a $1.5 million prize.

---

Featured Video For You

---

---

Topics Social Good

• Shopping
• Games
• Science
• Life
• Tech
• Entertainment
• Deals
• Social Good

• Best security deal: The 8
• Man proves why you should put away your phone at sports events
• Lin Manuel
• Audi tests a self
• Mary Shows Up
• Frank Darabont's emails to 'The Walking Dead' crew will singe your eyebrows
• NASA video lets you soar over Pluto, and it's pretty amazing
• There's a really trippy story behind Nine Inch Nails' new music video
• Stop Preordering Video Games
• Jacked Jeff Bezos knows grass

• 'Today' show Halloween costumes 2017: The good, the bad, the country
• LG is reportedly shutting down its smartphone business
• Sony to launch new Xperia phone on April 14
• Lil Nas X marks new song with moving letter to his 14
• Netflix's 'Bad Trip' is a perfect film: Movie review
• The wildest things from the other Trump
• President Trump to meet viral Pen
• Dog owner tweets her terminally ill dog's best moments in tribute to his life
• Climate change is making Kyoto's cherry blossoms bloom the earliest in 1,200 years
• 16 best tweets of the week, including ship memes, March Madness, and gribbles and scrumps

• WhatsApp launches 'Advanced Chat Privacy' to protect sensitive conversations
• The Senate health care plan is a disaster for workers in the gig economy
• Elon Musk launched x.com and, well, just see it for yourself
• MashReads: 'The Idiot' is one of the best books you'll read all year
• The strangeness of Japan's decision to start openly hunting whales
• WhatsApp now allows you to share any file type
• Marvel unleashes 'Infinity War' teaser trailer on D23 Expo, destroys everyone
• Visa is bribing small businesses to stop accepting cash
• Best portable power station deal: Save 44% on the Jackery Explorer 100 v2
• After 10 years, I'm breaking up with Android

• Get Rid of Windows 10 Ads, Office Offers and Other Annoyances
• DraftKings and FanDuel aren't merging after all
• Did Samsung really just tweet the Note 8 by accident?
• Neill Blomkamp uses YouTube, Twitter, Steam to fuel new sci
• Trump's science adviser pick is actually a good scientist
• 'Doctor Who' freakout: The 13th Doctor arrives on Sunday
• All the Disney princesses are coming back for the 'Wreck
• DraftKings and FanDuel aren't merging after all
• Best Apple deal: Save $60 on the Apple Watch SE
• Apple is adding 3D lasers to the iPhone so we can all be AR zombies