Science from Popular Mechanics demonstrates the possible . Who needs fossil fuels and their toxicity, when we have air! 8/13/25 edition.
In an Energy Breakthrough, Scientists Just Pulled Electricity Out of Thin Air
Scientists have unveiled a breakthrough device that transforms moisture from the air directly into electricity—no moving parts required.
In an Energy Breakthrough, Scientists Just Pulled Electricity Out of Thin Air
Here’s what you’ll learn in this story:
Researchers have unveiled an “evapolectric” device that pulls energy from the evaporation of water, producing significantly more electrical power than previous moisture-based energy technologies.
The device takes advantage of the temperature difference evaporation creates, making it possible to power small electronics using humidity, and even sweat.
Some researchers say an “evaporation engine” could in principle be scaled up someday to power larger systems.
As the world pushes to electrify—both to stave off the worst outcomes of climate change and to feed the increasing electricity demands of future technologies—scientists keep looking for new forms of renewable energy. Solar and wind are the obvious examples, and they remain our best near-term bet for kicking fossil fuel addiction. Researchers have also tapped into the power of the world’s oceans, unlocked Earth’s geothermal potential, and developed nuclear batteries capable of lasting for thousands of years. But an unlikely new source of energy might surpass all of these.
Suwardi and his fellow researchers have now done what once seemed impossible, pulling energy literally out of thin air. Scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have designed a tiny device that converts the heat from airborne moisture evaporation directly into electricity. They detail their methods in a paper published in July 2025 in the journal ACS Nano. This isn’t a wholly new approach; a burgeoning field known as “hydrovoltaics” similarly aims to transform moisture into energy. The appeal is obvious: moisture is omnipresent. Wind and solar? They come and go.