The D-SAL carbon structure at a seawater surface, sunlight raking across it as vapor rises.

Water, unlockedby sunlight

D-SAL is a low-cost solar-driven desalination and water purification technology that uses a recyclable carbon-and-fiber structure to accelerate evaporation and produce fresh water from saline water without high-pressure pumps or grid electricity.

Enter the technology
Artistic cyanotype editorial interpretation of António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Global context

“About 2.2 billion people still lack safely managed drinking water, and 3.5 billion lack safely managed sanitation.”

“Water is humanity’s common denominator — central to all life on earth”

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, July 2026, at the UN High-Level Political Forum

Artistic cyanotype editorial interpretation of a publicly available UN photograph, reproduced for context on the global water challenge. D-SAL has no affiliation with the United Nations, and neither the United Nations nor António Guterres endorses D-SAL or its products.

D-SAL: Sunlight into fresh water

Cutaway of a D-SAL solar still: sunlight heats a floating carbon layer, vapour rises and condenses on the cover as fresh water, salt stays in the water below.
01

Sunlight

The only energy input

02

Vapour

Evaporation at the interface

03

Floating carbon layer

Captures light across the solar spectrum; water reaches the surface by adsorption and evaporates from all exposed faces

04

Fresh water

Condenses on the cover

05

Brine

Salt stays below the layer

D-SAL yield

12–15L / day / m²