In a press release Researchers at the Laboratory of Nanoscience for Energy Technology (LNET) at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland announced they had developed a device that continuously generates electricity from evaporating water, aided by modest heat and sunlight. The system requires ordinary ion-containing water, such as tap water or seawater, and does not work with highly purified water.

The technology is a nanoscale hydrovoltaic device — a class of technology that harvests electricity from the evaporation-driven motion of water molecules and dissolved ions across engineered surfaces.

Another notable feature is the team’s “decoupled” design. By separating evaporation, ion transport, and electron collection into distinct layers, each stage can be studied and optimized independently. That gives engineers more control over performance and makes it easier to scale future versions.