Researchers at the University of Waterloo have designed an energy-efficient device that produces drinking water from seawater using an evaporation process driven largely by the sun.

Where the river meets the sea, there is the potential to harness a significant amount of renewable energy, according to a team of mechanical engineers.

It’s known from high school that aluminum can split water in hydrogen and oxygen, with aluminum hydroxide as byproduct. A team of Purdue University researchers has developed a mechanism that uses this reaction between aluminum, water and a liquid alloy to extract hydrogen directly from seawater and use it in boats and ships.