Wind turbines create drinking water

Engineers have created wind turbines that can conjure drinking water out of thin air.

French company Eole Water has modified a typical turbine, allowing it to produce drinking water and electricity at the same time.

A prototype in Abu Dhabi creates 62 litres of water an hour.

Air is sucked into the nose of the turbine and directed to a cooling compressor, where humidity is condensed and the resulting water runs down stainless steel pipes into a storage tank.

According to Thibault Janin, director of marketing at Eole Water, the technology could enable rural areas to become water self-sufficient.

Janin says communities in Africa and South America, and remote islands in Asia with little access to safe drinking water, would benefit the most.

As social entrepreneurship becomes more mainstream, what other technological developments might improve the lives of those less fortunate?