Tom Joseph thought he was "thinking big" three years ago when he aimed to bring his solar-powered water-purification system to the world's parched outposts.
"But we totally underestimated the size of the market," said Joseph, president and founder of Epiphany Solar Water Systems Inc., New Castle.
It's not just developing nations with little access to drinkable water that would benefit from his technology, he learned in 2010 at an energy forum in Abu Dhabi. There's a commercial market — resorts, urban high rises and remote industrial sites, such as natural gas extraction in the Marcellus shale — plus a military and disaster-relief market, to tap.
"In almost any city outside the United States, the tap water is either unsafe or it doesn't taste good," said Joseph, adding the bottled-water market alone is a "multibillion-dollar industry."
Epiphany's target market is still the estimated 2 billion people do not have adequate access to clean water, a number that is expected to double by 2025, according to the World Health Organization. As many as 5 million people die each year because of a waterborne illness, the organization said.
The company's energy-efficient system can purify salt water, for instance, for about 5 cents a gallon, compared with about 15 cents for conventional water-desalinization units, said Joseph, who he received the 2012 Environmental Award at the Carnegie Science Awards presentation on Friday, sponsored by the Carnegie Science Center.
"Getting this award helps a lot because it helps my credibility," said Joseph, a fluid mechanics engineer. "Our technology is such a world-changer that it's difficult to convince people I'm not off my rocker."
A number of investors and others already are convinced. Innovation Works, which invests in early-stage, high-tech businesses, last June invested the last half of a $100,000 commitment made in 2010. That followed $200,000 in funding the agency invested over 2009 and 2010. Innovation Works primarily relies on state funds to operate.
"When we make investments, we look at several things," said Desmond O'Connor, executive in residence at Innovation Works, South Oakland, "Is there a big need, as in market size? Is it unique and patent-protectable? Does it work?
And can the team deliver?" said O'Connor. "In Epiphany's case, all those elements are there."
The "solar" in the system is a mirrored dish, 10 feet in diameter, that collects the sun's energy. The system heats impure water, such as salt water, to a boil, then captures the steam to distill it. The main savings is there's no fuel to pay for, said Joseph, and maintenance entails 10 minutes a month brushing out the unit's interior.
While Epiphany employs only five people now, Joseph expects to double his work force by the end of May. With only prototypes to show so far, the company recently began producing its first unit for commercial sale, to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Another unit should be headed to an undisclosed buyer in Abu Dhabi by summer's end, Joseph said.
Phipps will incorporate an Epiphany unit into its "living building," a project under way in Oakland in which electricity, heat and water are obtained on-site. The unit will take the building's waste water and purify it for Phipps' orchids, which require 99.9 percent pure water.
"We're using it because it's unique and goes along with the energy efficiency we're introducing into our building," said Marcus Diniaco, Phipps' owners representative. He said the conservatory expects to install a 12-dish Epiphany system by mid-June.
Epiphany's units are very scalable, Joseph said. One unit can purify 500 gallons in a day, and "hundreds" of units could be linked to produce tens of thousands of gallons a day. One unit costs about $50,000, while 20 or more would cost about $35,000 apiece.
The system ships in a 20-foot-long container, is prewired with plumbing in place, and requires less than two hours for two people to set up, he said.
Meantime, the company is planning to relocate to the former Connelley Institute building near Downtown. Epiphany plans to lease about 5,000 of the building's 200,000 square feet, said Robert Meeder, president of Pittsburgh Gateways, a nonprofit economic development group that is renovating the building in the Lower Hill District.
"We're working to put them in the building within the next 60 days," Meeder said. The company fits his nonprofit's mission of helping new companies that make energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products and add to local jobs.
A closer look
About Epiphany Solar Water Systems Inc.
Business: Produces solar-powered water-purification systems suitable for remote locations
Headquarters: New Castle
Employees: 5
President: Tom Joseph
Revenue: $500,000 (2012 estimated)
Founded: 2005
Top executives: Tom Joseph, president and founder; Henry Wandrie, chief operating officer; Ron Pettengill, executive vice president
