There are currently a number of different ways to extract energy from water, both via traditional turbine propulsion as well as more advanced methods. Traditionally water has been the primary renewable energy source for people and has served as the basis for even rudimentary machinery for hundreds of years, spanning back to old water wheels used to power cogs located within buildings situated along rivers and waterfalls. Now it is seeing a rejouvination as new techniques are being developed to extract energy from water even more easily and efficiently.

Water molecules themselves being comprised of hydrogen and oxygen atoms contain a number of electrons and free-floating ions that store large amounts of energy that can be easily broken down and reassembled as need be. These electrons and ions form the basis of many processes requiring water for energy, including chemical reactions within living organisms or in power generation facilities that utilize water in a variety of ways. Other forms of water such as molecular isotopes that have a slightly different chemical makeup can also be found both naturally and artificially and are useful in a number of different ways.

In 2003 researchers in Canada at the University of Alberta discovered a new method for tapping into this energy without needing to force water through a turbine or use other moving parts to generate power. They discovered that as water passes over any solid surface a microscopic barrier created by the ions within water is formed, and using micro-channels they were able to tap into this energy source to convert the ion energy into electrical current. This has been the first “new” discovery of energy production from water for in the past 160 years and has led to many new renewable energy applications, including the commercial application of water being used to power simply electronic devices such as clocks.

Other research into water’s power has yielded the hydrogen power cell, enabling energy to be extracted from the fission process that occurs naturally when hydrogen and oxygen molecules form to produce water. This has allowed for the powering of stationary devices such as facility generators as well as portable energy sources such as car batteries to rely upon water formation rather than the burning of carbon producing fossil fuels for propulsion, something that may have been considered unfeasible by many scientific communities a few short decades ago.

Continuing research into the application of both water in its common form as well as the isotope of “heavy water” that contains additional hydrogen atoms is still being conducted today, with focus primarily on its use as a regulating factor in many energy production methods such as nuclear fission to process and filter out excess neutrons utilizing its stable molecular compound. Due to water’s high ability to both be utilized for power as well as carry energy it is a highly versatile source that is playing a major role in our energy needs today just as it has done for many years in the past.