Self-filling water bottle could help cyclists - and people living in places without fresh water

A designer from Austria is hoping to win a James Dyson Award for his invention of a water bottle that refills itself.

While the invention could interest cyclists riding across continents or around the world, ensuring them a fresh supply of hydration, its primary use could come in regions where fresh water is hard to come by.

Kristof Retezár’s Fontus system attaches to the frame of a bicycle, and while it is moving, enables air to be funnelled over what is described as a “condensing structure,” reports the website City Lab.

The air is then turned into moisture through a “condensing structure,” which drips into a detachable PET bottle. It works best in humid, warm conditions, picked out in a darker shade of red in the map below.

Retezár says: “Fontus can be applied in two different areas. Firstly, it may be interpreted as a sporty bicycle accessory.

“Useful on long bike tours, the constant search for freshwater sources such as rivers and gas stations can cease to be an issue since the bottle automatically fills itself up.

“Secondly, it might be a clever way of acquiring freshwater in regions of the world where groundwater is scarce but humidity is high.

“Experiments suggest that the bottle could harvest around 0.5 L water in one hour's time in regions with high temperature and humidity values.”