Professor Waite showcase the CTET mCDI trail unit to the visitors in Northern Territory, Australia

On Thursday, 11 August 2022, the Minister Counsellor and the third Secretary from the People’s Republic of China’s Embassy in Australia visited the pilot scale mCDI unit manufactured through UNSW Centre for Transformational Environmental Technologies (CTET) and currently under trial in Ali Curung, a remote community in Central Australia. The visit was accompanied by Professor David Waite, Dr Yuan Wang and Mr. Warwick Dawson, Director of Knowledge Exchange, UNSW Sydney and engineers from the Power and Water Corporation in Northern Territory.

Ali Curung has a population of 600 people who rely completely on the local groundwater for their drinking water supply. CTET’s mCDI unit is co-located with Power and Water’s Advanced Water Treatment Plant in Ali Curung, providing drinking water to the indigenous people in the community.

Professor Waite explained the working mechanisms of mCDI and the advances made by the UNSW and CTET research team on the system design and integration to the visitors. The Minister Counsellor also tasted the water produced directly from the tap from the mCDI unit and confirmed its acceptability.

Figure 2. Professor Waite showcasing the CTET mCDI unit to the visitors

The General Manager of Strategic Services from Wannon Water, a regional Victorian water corporation, also joined the trip. Wannon Water is committed to improving the aesthetic quality of local groundwater supplies to improve community health and reduce cost of living. The CTET mCDI units offer a novel solution and discussions have commenced about a possible Victorian trial.

After the site visit, the Minister Counsellor and the third Secretary also both tried the augmented reality (AR) mCDI unit developed by the CTET team and used to monitor and control the unit remotely.