WaterLight - Portable light that can be charged with salt water or urine

E-Dina is a Colombian start-up company specializing in renewable energy, has developed a new wireless lamp called WaterLight. This lamp works quite uniquely when it can convert salt water into electricity , and in case of emergency, users can even use urine to charge and "light" this lamp.

The WaterLight acts as a mini generator, generating light through ionization; every time the user fills the lamp with 500 ml of seawater, the salt in the water reacts with magnesium and copper plates embedded inside the lamp, converting the salt into electrical energy. The lamp has a light duration of up to 45 days. It can also be used to charge phones or other small electrically powered devices thanks to the built-in USB port on the lamp.

This lamp has a glow time of up to 45 days.

Wunderman Thompson decided to partner with E-Dina to develop the WaterLight. Witnessing the struggles of local people in rural Colombia – especially the indigenous Wayúu tribe – to maintain a source of light at night inspired both companies to develop the WaterLight; it could help fishermen to fish at night, and craftspeople such as knitters and embroiderers to sell more orders because they can work at any time (rather than just during the day). It could also help prevent fires, as children could have a better and safer source of light to study at night instead of candles.

WaterLight acts as a mini generator.

Glows for two to three years, providing nearly 5,600 hours of illumination

Pipe Ruiz Pineda, executive creative director of Wunderman Thompson Colombia, explains that using the WaterLight is more practical than using solar-powered ones, because once filled with water (salt), the light will light up immediately , while solar-powered lights need time to convert solar energy into other energy to charge the battery, and they can only work when there is sun.

Pineda said WaterLight was patented as the first method to extend the effects of ionization, allowing the lamp to produce electricity and light for a longer period of time.

WaterLight has a special advantage in that it can produce light almost instantly.

The lamp has a cylindrical wooden shell and a perforated top cap so that water can be poured in and the ionized hydrogen gas can escape. During its lifetime, the WaterLight can provide light for two to three years, or approximately 5,600 hours.

Although WaterLight is not the first invention to bring light to poor rural communities, it has the unique advantage of being able to produce light almost instantly, 24 hours a day.