INNOVATION WINS AWARD: FROM FROZEN MOON WATER TO DRINKING WATER
02 April 2025Turning frozen moon water into drinking water may sound like science fiction, but it has recently become – at least in theory – a possibility. An international team of scientists, including Onno Kramer from Waternet, in collaboration with Queen Mary University of London, has developed a ground-breaking technology to do just that: Super-Critical Water Oxidation (SCWO). This innovation was awarded a prestigious prize in London last week, presented by the UK Space Agency and Challenge Works.
Figure in the photo from left to right: Edo Boek, Stoyan Smoukov, Onno Kramer, Adrian Farid Bustis Jimenez, Jincheng Wu, Yuchen Liu.
Earthly impacts from lunar thinking
Although SCWO is not yet ready for practical application, the technology already offers new perspectives for tackling pressing challenges here on Earth. These include solutions to the growing PFAS contamination issue and the increasing pressure on drinking water supply – challenges that, in terms of extremity, can be compared to the conditions of frozen lunar water.
“For me, it’s about what we can learn from extreme environments that, in fact, mirror the PFAS issue in an increasingly complex living environment. In other words, our current conventional approach (continuously adding one piece onto another) will, sooner or later, no longer suffice. This is not only relevant for space exploration – it can have a tremendous impact on water treatment here on Earth. Think energy-efficient, autonomous systems that are capable of almost fully purifying contaminated water – something that could be of great interest to Waternet in the future,” said Onno Kramer, Senior Process Technologist at Waternet and Visiting Lecturer / Professor at Queen Mary, University of London.
Kramer also praised the collaborative nature of the project:
“Much of this success is due to the highly pleasant and professional cooperation between all involved partners.”
Yvonne Jakobs, Director of Drinking Water at Waternet: “I’m incredibly proud of Onno and the team for winning an award for this ground-breaking research. If we want to continue providing future generations with clean drinking water, we must keep collaborating and innovating intensively,”
The team behind SCWO – called AquaLunarPure – was led by Professor Edo Boek (Queen Mary, University of London), who invited Onno Kramer to join the research. The winning innovation was part of the UK Aqualunar Challenge (You are leaving this website).
Innovation that inspires global action
World Waternet relies on water-cycle experts from Waternet. Frodo van Oostveen, CEO of World Waternet: “SCWO demonstrates how far innovation can take us – even beyond the beaten track of the traditional water sector. In our global water-cycle work, we build on the deep-rooted innovative AND practical expertise of our colleagues at Waternet. Their technical know-how and pioneering vision enable us to contribute to sustainable, resilient and healthy water systems around the world. Together, we turn practical knowledge into collective action.”
PFAS is not just any problem
While SCWO holds promise for breaking down persistent contaminants like PFAS, it's important to remain realistic: PFAS pollution is a complex and evolving global issue, caused by decades of industrial use and widespread dispersion through air, soil and water. SCWO, though technically mature, is currently applied mostly to highly concentrated industrial waste streams. Its potential for use in drinking water treatment – particularly at scale – requires further research and system-level validation. Still, projects like AquaLunarPure help anticipate the future: when source water quality worsens, we need to be ready with solutions that can remove even the invisible.
Help the mission
To further explore SCWO’s potential for drinking water applications, Waternet and Queen Mary University of London are seeking funding to acquire a dedicated SCWO reactor – specialised equipment needed to experimentally test the technology under real-world conditions, including PFAS breakdown and matrix effects. This investment would support joint innovation at the frontier of science and utility practice. World Waternet encourages partners who are eager to help advance this mission to connect and explore possibilities for collaboration.