How to secure water resilience for islands?

Islands, and especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS), are often on the front line of climate change. They feel stronger storms and rising seas earlier and more intensely than many other regions, despite contributing only a tiny share of global emissions. At the same time, their freshwater systems are under pressure from both sides: supply becomes more fragile, while demand can swing sharply, especially in places where tourism drives big seasonal peaks. So how do you build water resilience for islands when reliable water is harder to secure and needs can change overnight? Could atmospheric water harvesting increase water resilience for islands?

Read more about atmospheric water harvesting and water resilience for islands in our white paper: Water Resilience for Islands White Paper

When local freshwater is limited, islands typically rely on either desalination or freshwater imports. Both approaches face challenges. Desalination can provide steady volumes, but it is energy-intensive. For many islands, that often means dependence on imported fossil fuels and exposure to the volatility of the oil market. In addition, there is the brine problem. Desalination leaves behind a concentrated brine which typically gets discharged back into the ocean. This practice can severely harm the local maritime diversity. You can read more about the environmental impact of brine in this study: Environmental impact of brine from desalination plants on marine benthic diatom diversity

Freshwater imports aren’t an ideal path to water resilience for islands either. They can be expensive, add CO₂ emissions through transport, and leave islands dependent on external supply chains, which becomes especially risky during emergencies when deliveries may be delayed or disrupted.

What if island nations could generate their water from air? What sounds like the idea from a science-fiction novel, is actually based on real, Nobel Prize-winning science. The answer to the water resilience for islands challenge is atmospheric water harvesting.

Atmospheric water harvesting is the process of generating water from air. As the atmosphere holds more water than all the world’s rivers and lakes combined, atmospheric water is a large, yet untapped, resource of water which can be especially valuable for islands.

At Atoco, we build atmospheric water generators based on decades of research by our Founder and Chief Science Officer, Nobel Laureate Prof. Omar Yaghi. In an interview with The Guardian, he talked about how our atmospheric water harvesting technology can enable water resilience for islands: Atoco’s Founder, Nobel Laureate Prof. Omar Yaghi, featured in The Guardian

He underlined the potential of atmospheric water harvesting to decentralize water supply for islands and in other remote places. Our technology is based on nano-engineered reticular materials such as Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) or Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs). These materials are highly ordered and porous structures. The high porosity is important because MOFs and COFs can be designed with atomic precision to store certain molecules such as H2O or CO2 inside these pores as you would park a car in a parking lot.

This transformative approach enables us to tap into the resource of atmospheric water in an energy-efficient and scalable way, even in remote places such as islands.

Here are three questions you might be asking at this point.

1) Can atmospheric water harvesting generate water right where it is needed?

Yes, our atmospheric water generators can harvest water from air at scale, even in the most remote and driest places on earth. You can read more on how this works from a technical side here: Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Pure Water from Air Using Reticular Chemistry | Atoco

2) Is atmospheric water harvesting sustainable?

Yes, the atmospheric water circle constantly replenishes itself and is therefore a sustainable resource. Our off-grid water generation technology is entirely powered by low-grade thermal energy from either natural sources or low-grade industrial waste heat. It does not produce any CO2 emissions and can therefore strengthen water resilience for islands without harming CO2 goals.

3) How much does atmospheric water generation cost?

By eliminating the need to transport water by road or pipeline and relying on free ambient energy, Atoco’s off-grid water generation solutions provide a cost-competitive alternative to other water sources on islands. For a scenario analysis comparing the costs of desalination, imported water and our atmospheric water harvesting technology on islands, see our white paper: Water Resilience for Islands White Paper | Atoco

Water resilience for islands is not about finding one perfect solution. It is about reducing dependency and making sure clean water is still available when storms hit, ports close, or demand surges during peak tourism season.

Desalination and imports will continue to play a role, but they come with structural risks: high energy needs, exposure to fuel prices, brine impacts, and potentially fragile supply chains. Atmospheric water harvesting based on nano-engineered reticular materials offers a transformative solution. It enables islands to generate water from air locally, scale production where and when it is needed, and do so with a minimal carbon footprint by using low-grade ambient energy.

If islands want a water strategy that is more resilient, more flexible, and better prepared for a changing climate, air to water should be part of the conversation. For further reading, feel free to download our white paper: Water Resilience for Islands White Paper