Fontus - The Self Filling Water Bottles
Fontus creates WATER out of light and air. Join us in making this vision come to life!
If you are an adventurer, you know the anxiety that comes with running out of water in the middle of a tour, the last thing you want is dehydration when you are miles away from home!
Fontus is a self filling water bottle that allows you to plan your adventures without having to worry about heavy water loads or where to find the next river or gas station to get your water supply.
Fontus will set your mind at ease and might even save your life! It will keep you hydrated during your travels and ready for improvisation!
We are a small start-up with a big vision!
By participating in this crowdfunding, you are helping us to finalize the development phase and run product and water analysis testing so that we can reduce the time needed to get from development to full scale production.
We are planning to increase new application specific products and scale up this technology into larger platforms that will be able to solve larger problems on our planet. It is our future intention to deploy our products to regions with water scarcity, offering solutions that have the potential to improve or even save life.
However, to get there we must start here.
We thank you for your kind support!
Fontus Airo will save you trouble, weight and might even save your life!
This water bottle will refill itself while you are hiking, sailing, climbing, camping or just enjoyign nature.There is no need to worry any more about heavy water loads, plastic bottle waste or where to find the next river to fill up your bottle and get your daily water supply. This device gives you the freedom to plan your adventure without worriyng about the most elemental component of survival: water supply.
You can clip the Airo to a backpack and fill your bottle while you are hiking. Allow it to function while you are in motion, or just let it fill while sitting at a campsite!
- Light: Forget about carrying heavy water loads!
- Friendly: One water bottle rather than many disposable plastic bottles
- Charge your phone: USB connection on the solar mat
- Smart: Use what nature gives you
- Freedom: No need to plan your tour around water resources
- Capacity: Holds up to 0.8 liters
- Simple Design: Compact, comfortable, small and easy design
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This device was designed to capture the moisture contented in the air, condense it and store it as safe drinking water.
A small fan draws the air from the surrounding environment, runs it through a special filter and presses it into the condensation chambers. A series of small coolers bring the moisture contained in the air to condense on special surfaces. The resultant liquid water then drops into the bottle´s main body and is stored.
Should you have concerns about still or stilled water, the lower section of the bottle is designed to carry little capsules, which dissolved in the harvested water, iniciate a process of re-mineralization. This process makes it possible to produce fresh mineral water and give your body everything it needs!
We believe it is easier to add vitamins and minerals specific to your needs into the water, rather than worry about what might already be in there waiting for you!
- Portable: Easily fits in your backpack
- Friendly: One water bottle rather than many disposable plastic bottles
- Green: Uses solar power
- Smart: Use what nature gives you
- Freedom: No need to plan your tour around water resources
- Simple Design: Compact, comfortable, small and easy design
- BY GETTING THE AIRO at the $225 LEVEL, YOU GET A SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION VERSION with special graphics and a note from the founders.
Fontus Ryde is a self filling water bottle, especially designed to fit your bicycle!
This water bottle will refill itself as you ride on your bike. Its adapted design fits the ergonomics of your bike adopting the shape of a bottle holder. Harvest water while you are on your bike tour and stay regularly hydrated! This bottle uses the air stream you create while riding in order to press humid air into the system.
This device was designed to capture the moisture contented in the air, condense it and store it as safe drinking water.
The air stream you generate while riding is used here in place of a fan to press large ammounts of air into the chambers without needing extra energy sources. It also supports the performance of small coolers at the heart of the device.
The air first runs through a special filter and is then pressed into the condensation chambers. The air is then condensed across a complex cooling subassembly. A series of small coolers powered by solar panels, attached at the sides, bring the moisture contained in the turbulent air to condense on special surfaces. Liquid water then drops into the bottle´s main body and is stored. This water can then be re-mineralized using special capsules.
We all know the basics of extracting water out of the atmosphere: when we take a cold soda can out of the fridge in summer and little droplets form on the walls, making it look even fresher and us thirstier! A surface that has a lower temperature than the atmosphere makes the humidity, contained in gas form in the air, condense and change into a liquid state. At this point little drops of pure water form. When changing states, water, loses almost all additional elements it could have been combined with. This could be dust, minerals or bacteria.
Fontus aims to bring an alternative way of collecting safe drinking water to regions where drought and unclean water are a big issue. Bikes, as the most widespread means of transport in the world, especially in developing countries, seemed at the first brainstorming stages to be the perfect vehicles to combine with the invention.
Fontus Ryde and Airo might be a clever way of acquiring freshwater in regions of the world where groundwater is scarce but air humidity is high. They could work as a mobile water well, for example, providing a child with water for the day while riding to school, or providing essential water supplies during a longer camping trip.
Fontus Ryde and Airo might be a clever way of acquiring freshwater in regions of the world where groundwater is scarce but air humidity is high. They could work as a mobile water well, for example, providing a child with water for the day while riding to school, or providing essential water supplies during a longer camping trip.
Effectiveness of Fontus
Info graphic efficiency factors
The efficiency of the fontus bottles depends mainly upon the relative humidity of the air and the temperature. The higher the humidity and the temperature, the faster will the bottles fill themselves up. We cannot guarantee that Fontus will deliver a constant water output in all conditions and may produce little or no water at all under some conditions.
Early product development phases
Current status of technical development
The basic principles of the Fontus technology - atmospheric water generation through condensation - have been proven and tested in monitored conditions. With your support we will be able to enter into a higher development phase, optimize efficiency, refine the design and provide test data. After the successful completion of the expected design goal, we plan to integrate the technology into Fontus Airo and Ryde devices and validate the products with customers around the globe in real world conditions.
We want to specifically point out that all graphics, images and videos serve for illustrative purposes only and do not represent detailed or accurate data product results.
Fontus in the world
Design Awards and Nominations
The Fontus Story
Fontus is a young company in the start–up phase with its headquarters located in Vienna and a development site located in California. We are a motivated team composed of young members of different countries and disciplines such as industrial design, electrical and mechanical engineering, product development and international business operations.
Our work has immediately attracted local and international recognition and has been appreciated through numerous design awards. In 2016, the Fontus project received financial support from the austrian government (AWS).
Humbled by the enormous email inquiries and honored letters of support and encouragement, we are committed to bring our ideas to life and ready to face new challenges! Thanks for your kind support!
Meet the Team
FAQ
How come international shipping is $75? The FONTUS bottles, both AIRO and RYDE are being shipped from the United States as an origin point. We have done everything we can to absorb as much of the shipping costs as possible.
How much water do the bottles produce? As humidity and temperature varies around the globe, we cannot guarantee an equal water output in all regions of the world. After final prototyping we plan to test the product under varying conditions that will encompass the different climates of the world and we will be able to provide you with test data on regional differences of water output. You can see our first estimation of effectiveness of Fontus in the info graphic above.
Isn’t distilled (or still) water unhealthy? There is much confusion around this topic. The water you harvest with the Fontus bottles is not distilled water, it has been condensed out of the atmosphere. Civilizations have been using a form of this technology for many years, we are just rebooting and modernizing it based on current technology to help more people. We believe that it is much easier to add in the vitamins and minerals you need into a clean water supply, rather than of worry about unknown potential chemicals and harmful agents that could already be in the local water source.
Is the harvested water polluted? Atmospheric water is clean and does not contain harmful micro-organisms. The process of evaporating water and condensing it back is already itself a purifying process. This means, the water harvested by the Fontus bottles is already water in one of its purest states. However, Fontus was not designed to be used in urban and highly polluted areas. Currently the filters we have in place were designed to maximize airflow to the unit; so closer to IP54. Due to the overwhelming response we will be looking at the inclusion of an air, and if needed water filters for future models.
What is the current status of technical development? The basic principles of the Fontus technology - atmospheric water generation through condensation - have been proven and tested in monitored conditions. With your support we will be able to enter into a higher development phase, optimize efficiency, refine the design and provide test data. After the successful completion of the expected design goal, we plan to integrate the technology into Fontus Airo and Ryde devices and validate the products with customers around the globe in real world conditions.
How does the technology it work? We employ a technology that has been around for many generations that generates a condensed water molecule out of the air moisture. There are many companies that already offer a larger version of this technology. However we have focused on creating a smaller and more efficient version of the technology to allow for portable and personal use. We will not disclose any subsequent details as to the absolute specifics of how it functions.
Can it be cheaper in the future to help with humanitarian missions? Yes, the intent of this project is to help generate the funding needed to finish the test validation and generate the component tooling to create a final version that is able to support more humanitarian aid missions. Our vision is to expand our product family and applications and focus on regions with water scarcity in the future.
Why can't I select the color/size combination I want? Currently we are only offering what you see available online. However if you are signed up to the newsletter, you will be the first to know about the customization of products when that option becomes available.
Thanks for your support!
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