“Humidity to electricity” – renewable energy conversion technology

The CATCHER project is aimed at the development of an innovative technology to exploit atmospheric humidity for direct conversion to electricity. It is creating an efficient use of the new sustainable source for renewable energy and thus strengthens the EU leadership on renewables.

CATCHER is a new European Union HORIZON-EIC Action with a duration of 4 years coordinated by the Portuguese Lusófona Universities of Humanities and Technologies together with partners Ecole Royale Militaire (Belgium), Cascatachuva (Portugal), Nanomaterials R&D (Poland), Nanotechcenter LLC (Ukraine), SYNYO (Austria) and Lavola (Spain). The project aims to develop and uptake a new technology for producing electricity from the humidity in the air. Its approach is characterized by three unique and innovative aspects:

• The project brings innovation to harness the planet’s abundant natural resource – atmospheric humidity – in a way that can sustain society’s needs. CATCHER will significantly advance the innovative concept of “atmospheric humidity to electricity” direct conversion via fundamental knowledge advancement; proof of technological feasibility of the concept-driven R&D and demonstration of its sustainable benefits. 
  
  
• The CATCHER project will contribute by S&T advances in four of the total six EU Key Enabling Technologies: Micro-and Nanoelectronics, Nanotechnology, Advanced Materials, and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies. CATCHER ‘s contribution is in the fields of solid-state physics and nano-electronics, chemistry and surface science, and electro-physics and nanoengineering.
  
  
• CATCHER has a high positive societal and economic impact. CATCHER’s “deep-tech” supports Europe’s economic growth and job creation driven by innovation. By 2050, an investment in the renewable energy sector of around 2800 billion EUR is expected.  The investment will bring 6.1 million people to workplaces in comparison to the current 2.7 million. Through CATCHER, the EU will fortify the EU Renewable Energy market by trailblazing a disruptive new product capable of supplementing current technologies and solving significant energy efficiency challenges.

The application of the CATCHER technology and its impact can be efficiently maximized because of its modularity. It can be adapted to a variety of appliances ranging from a large-scale energy production plant to a household or a non-profit organization in tropical and sub-tropical countries – in all environments where humidity and steam are produced via heating or cooling systems.