SOURCE Global Isn’t Publicly Traded, but Its Tech Will Be in High Demand
Bill Gates has invested in SOURCE Global, a company that creates hydropanels. Does SOURCE have stock, and is it publicly traded?
March 29 2022, Published 6:04 a.m. ET
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is among the leading private investors in emerging industries, with companies that address climate change high on his list of priorities. Gates's investment in SOURCE Global has drawn investors' attention. Does SOURCE Global have stock, and is it publicly traded?
SOURCE Global makes hydropanels, which make water through air and sunlight, similar to how solar panels generate electricity. Cody Friesen is SOURCE's current CEO.
Cody Friesen founded SOURCE Global
Friesen created hydropanels at Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, which he has been associated with for over 17 years now. He did a BSc in materials science and engineering there before completing a PhD at MIT.
SOURCE Global doesn't have stock and isn't publicly traded
SOURCE Global is currently a privately held company. As a result, it doesn't have stock and retail investors can't invest in the company. Given the scarcity of and need for pure-play water technology companies, it might go public in the future, though it hasn't shared any plans for listing.
How do SOURCE Global’s hydropanels work?
According to SOURCE, its hydropanels are “a one-of-a-kind renewable water technology that uses the power of the sun to extract clean, pollutant-free drinking water from the air.” The water collected is then mineralized for taste.
The company has three business lines: residential, commercial, and bottled water. The commercial business focuses on institutional customers such as schools and hospitality services, while the residential business focuses on retail customers.
According to SOURCE, each hydropanel needs a minimum of six by 10 feet of southeast-facing space and can support 340 pounds of water. The panels cost around $2,000 each. So far, the company has had 450 projects in over 50 countries.
SOURCE Global's valuation and investors
Lightsmith Group, BlackRock, Duke Energy, and Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy are among SOURCE’s investors. The company has raised $150 million from private investors.
The outlook for water companies looks bullish
Water is in short demand. India, for instance, is home to one-sixth of the world's population but only 4 percent of its freshwater. It's estimated that almost two-thirds of the world's population will face water scarcity by the middle of this decade.
(Michael Burry of The Big Short fame was also bullish on water. In 2020, CME Group launched water futures linked to the California spot water market.)
SOURCE Global looks like an attractive investment opportunity. Climate change and extreme weather conditions are now more of a reality, and water shortages might only get worse over the next decade.