Solar desalination champion teams with university

Louisiana, engineer and solar powered desalination entrepreneur, Hill Kemp, has teamed up with University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP) to market the technology to industrial customers.

Kemp has worked to refine his solar-powered desalination process over the past eight years. UTEP is seeking a licensing partner, said Kem, who will give this condensation method a chance.

Kemp said the partners have identified more than 200 companies in the El Paso area that have in-house water treatment facilities that could use his solar-powered desalination method.

Kemp – a semifinalist in last year’s worldwide Desal Prize created by the US Agency for International Development - was bullish about the prospects for his technology: “We’ve shown it – certified by the federal government – in our testing units. The market is going to have to see it working and see people reaping the benefits.”

UTEP licensing specialist, Jeni Clark, estimated the value of the the water desalination equipment marketplace at $600 billion globally. “When you have a breakthrough like this some people can be skeptical, so we have to get them to pay attention,” Clark said.