The Mancha Occidental region in Ciudad Real, within the Guadiana River Basin, clearly reflects the global challenge of water scarcity. Worldwide, climate change and unsustainable extraction place nearly 40% of humanity under severe water stress, and in La Mancha this reality is manifested in aquifers that have dropped between 20 and 30 meters and in the visible deterioration of ecosystems such as the Tablas de Daimiel National Park (Ramsar, UNESCO). Agriculture, the backbone of the economy and food security, faces rising costs, yield losses, and greater social vulnerability as droughts intensify. This is not merely a local crisis, but the reflection of a planetary imbalance: millions of cubic meters of freshwater are lost or degraded every year, while demand continues to grow.
Against this backdrop, the Atmospheric Water Harvesting Farms Based on Nanomaterials project presents itself as a bold and visionary response. By condensing and collecting humidity directly from the air, it creates a renewable, decentralized, and traceable source of water that can transform rural resilience. Each installation has the capacity to generate tens of thousands of cubic meters annually, equivalent to the annual consumption of hundreds of households, and can reduce emissions associated with tanker transport by more than 70%. The opportunity is not only to supply water but to change the narrative: from overexploitation to regeneration, from scarcity to circularity.
Strategically, the project seeks to stabilize agricultural production, ease the overexploitation of aquifers, and reinforce the ecological integrity of wetlands of international value. Its goal is clear: to turn innovation into security for farmers and communities, protect biodiversity, and open new pathways for sustainable economic growth. The initiative integrates actors throughout the value chain, farmers, technology providers, basin authorities, investors, and independent verifiers, ensuring governance and credibility. Aligned with the Water Positive roadmap and measured under the VWBA 2.0 methodology, every cubic meter is additional, intentional, and traceable. Thus, the project not only responds to an urgent local deficit but contributes to global leadership in water innovation, sending a clear message: solutions exist when vision and courage converge.
La Mancha Occidental is the epicenter of the groundwater crisis in Spain. The aquifer system supports extensive irrigated agriculture, vineyards, cereals, and horticultural crops, but chronic overexploitation has destabilized ecosystems and increased the vulnerability of rural communities. Tanker trucks and emergency transfers have become commonplace, raising costs and emissions without ensuring long-term sustainability. This situation calls for bold and disruptive actions, and here the project presents itself as protagonist.
The Atmospheric Water Harvesting Farms Based on Nanomaterials project seizes a unique technical and strategic opportunity: employing humidity condensation through nanomaterials to provide decentralized, renewable, and large-scale water in Ciudad Real. With a nominal capacity of tens of thousands of m³ annually, each farm replaces unsustainable extractions and avoids hundreds of tanker trips, translating into direct and immediate benefits such as emission reductions, water regeneration, and reduced dependence on contaminating inputs. In the short term, it delivers efficiency and savings; in the medium term, it stabilizes agricultural incomes and reduces nitrate pollution derived from pumping; and in the long term, it contributes to the ecological resilience of the Tablas de Daimiel and secures a sustainable future for rural communities.
This initiative is made possible through the joint action of technology developers, the local technical operator, beneficiary farming communities, basin authorities, and external verifiers that guarantee traceability of the claims. By replacing unsustainable extraction and tanker logistics with renewable, traceable supply, the model is replicable and exportable to other semi-arid basins. Acting now is key: every year of delay worsens the water deficit and the loss of competitiveness of the primary sector.
Agri-food, energy, and distribution companies are called to lead this transformation. By doing so, they not only meet ESG commitments but gain visibility, competitive differentiation, and alignment with new European sustainability regulations. Being part of this project means becoming a protagonist in the transition toward a regenerative water economy, where every cubic meter harvested from the sky is a symbol of innovation, responsibility, and business leadership.
The solutions and mitigations stage is based on the installation of modular farms of atmospheric panels with nanomaterial coatings, designed with superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic properties that allow condensation and channeling of humidity into storage tanks. Each module is complemented with IoT sensors, flow meters, and quality probes integrated into a SCADA digital platform that ensures real-time monitoring and complete traceability of volumes and parameters. With a nominal capacity of tens of thousands of m³ per year, the system delivers reliable water for irrigation and livestock, displacing the pumping of overexploited aquifers.
During the design phase, alternatives such as reservoirs, transfers, or desalination were evaluated but discarded due to inefficiency in inland conditions, high costs, and environmental impacts. Atmospheric harvesting was selected for its energy efficiency, decentralization, scalability, and full compatibility with the principles of Water Positive and the VWBA 2.0 methodology. The technical and strategic justification is based on addressing a critical problem: water losses, pressure on aquifers, and social vulnerability. The selection criteria considered efficiency, cost, environmental impact, replicability, and regulatory compliance.
Quantifiable benefits include thousands of cubic meters of additional water harvested annually, direct emission reductions by avoiding tanker transport, and tangible relief in groundwater extraction. Environmentally, nitrate pollution reduction, microclimate regeneration, and biodiversity recovery in wetlands are expected. Socially, food security, public health, and rural employment are strengthened; economically, costs are reduced, operational resilience is increased, and certifications and ESG reputation are enhanced.
Risks considered include variability of humidity, technological failures, or social resistance. To mitigate them, redundant systems, contingency plans, preventive and predictive maintenance protocols, and shared governance with local communities are integrated. Long-term resilience is ensured through technological updating, diversification of sites, and external audits. Specific protocols prevent critical failures such as contamination, supply interruptions, or quality issues.
Its competitiveness compared to alternatives is measured in cost/benefit and water efficiency, with verifiable performance indicators. Expansion is facilitated by public-private, community, and technological partnerships, consolidating a water innovation ecosystem capable of transforming entire territories.
The implementation plan is conceived under an adaptive and phased scheme that ensures order, control, and the ability to adjust over time. The first stage corresponds to diagnostics and baseline establishment, where microclimates, relative humidity, water availability, and demand are characterized, as well as initial resource quality and emissions derived from the current situation. With these data, reference indicators are set, and the without-project scenario is built as a comparison. This phase is developed during the first semester.
The second stage focuses on technical design and modular installation of the atmospheric panels coated with nanomaterials, connected to conveyance and storage systems. Each module has a nominal capacity to capture tens of thousands of m³ per year and is equipped with flow meters, quality probes, and IoT sensors that feed into a SCADA platform for real-time monitoring. Alternatives such as transfers or desalination were discarded due to their costs and impacts, choosing this solution for its efficiency, scalability, and lower environmental footprint. Commissioning allows parameter adjustments and verification of performance against projections.
The third stage corresponds to validation, which extends through the second year, where results are contrasted with the baseline and performance reports are issued, certifying volumetric benefits through external audits. KPIs defined include volumes captured, emissions avoided, water quality, hectares benefited, and energy consumed. Measurement frequency is monthly in online sensors and quarterly in laboratory analyses, complemented by remote sensing.
Continuous operation is structured under shared governance: the technical operator manages daily operations, local communities collaborate in maintenance, the basin authority oversees water use, and an external verifier audits results. Clear roles are assigned for operation, preventive and corrective maintenance, validation, and reporting. Governance agreements exist on allocation of the generated water, prioritizing agricultural and environmental uses.
Control and traceability are ensured both physically and digitally: water flows are georeferenced from capture point to end user, and the SCADA system generates automatic reports, alarms for flow or quality deviations, and blockchain records to ensure data integrity. External validation protocols by third parties reinforce credibility.
The maintenance plan includes preventive cleaning routines, replacement of nanomaterial coatings, periodic sensor calibration, and corrective plans for failures. Contingency mechanisms are integrated to address hydrological variability, performance drops, or technological failures, supported by redundant systems. Long-term climate resilience is ensured through site diversification, updating of climate prediction algorithms, and progressive technological adaptation.
Finally, monitoring and continuous improvement are based on systematically comparing the with-project scenario against the without-project scenario, using VWBA/WQBA metrics for water saved, regenerated, and contaminants removed. Each deviation generates automatic alerts and contingency plans. Feedback from field data, together with technological updating and continuous training of local actors, ensures that benefits are permanent and replicable over time. The entire process is governed by the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality, consolidating a scalable and verifiable model in the long term.
The Atmospheric Water Harvesting Farms Based on Nanomaterials – Mancha Occidental project constitutes a pioneering intervention that applies the logic of VWBA from diagnostics to validation. The main intervention is atmospheric water harvesting through modular panels with nanomaterial coatings, complemented by conveyance, storage, and digital monitoring platforms (IoT-SCADA). The process is developed in phases: diagnostics and baseline of water quantity and quality, installation of panels and sensors, commissioning with equipment calibration, validation through external audits, and continuous operation with preventive and predictive maintenance. Each module can capture tens of thousands of m³ per year and delivers water for irrigation and livestock, under compliance with national, European, and quality standards (ISO, WHO, Water Framework Directive, Spanish legislation, and Nitrates Directive).
This solution is especially relevant because it addresses the structural problem of overexploitation of the Mancha Occidental aquifer, biodiversity loss in the Tablas de Daimiel, and the social and economic vulnerability of farming communities. Compared to the baseline of declining aquifers and dependence on tankers, the project offers a renewable, decentralized, and traceable supply that reduces water stress and emissions. It is suitable in this context due to its low energy consumption, replicability, and alignment with climate adaptation policies.
Expected results include harvesting thousands of m³ of additional water annually, reducing emissions associated with tanker transport, easing pressure on aquifers, and indirect improvements in water quality by reducing diffuse pollution. Co-benefits are expected in biodiversity, food security, public health, and social resilience. The project strengthens skilled rural employment and builds trust in the transition to regenerative practices.
From a strategic perspective, it contributes to the Water Positive roadmap by generating additional and traceable water benefits, aligned with the principles of additionality, traceability, and intentionality of VWBA. It offers tangible ESG benefits in terms of reputation, social license to operate, competitive differentiation, and regulatory compliance. It integrates into global commitments such as SBTi for Water, NPWI, SDGs, and ESRS E3, ensuring coherence with international frameworks.
The model is scalable and replicable in other semi-arid basins in Spain and internationally with similar conditions. It requires humidity availability, regulatory frameworks that recognize atmospheric harvesting, and alliances among technical operators, local communities, governments, and private investors. Its competitiveness is measured in cost/benefit and water efficiency, with verifiable indicators under VWBA.
The final expected impact is twofold: contributing to the basin’s water balance by reducing extraction and providing additional water, and strengthening resilience to climate change through productive and environmental adaptation. Socially, it generates employment, improves access to water, and strengthens community fabric. The message it conveys to investors, clients, and society is clear: bold water innovation is viable, verifiable, and essential for a regenerative economy that transforms the future of water in La Mancha and beyond.
