Abstract
Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) is limited by the high energy demand for sorbent regeneration, while battery thermal management dissipates substantial low-grade heat unused. Here, we propose a thermally symbiotic architecture integrating these systems. Battery discharge waste heat regenerates a MOF-303 sorbent layer via desorption, while the sorption process passively stabilizes battery temperature. The sorbent’s regeneration enthalpy aligns with the battery’s thermal output, triggering desorption under −12 to −20 A discharge. Within 46 min, the MOF exceeds 50 °C, releasing vapor for condensation in a sealed setup. Concurrently, sorption extracts heat from the battery, reducing peak temperatures by ~10 °C. Notably, this integrated system achieves a water production rate of 1.39 g g−1 day−1, a 117% increase over solar-driven counterparts. Finite-element simulations validate the heat transfer dynamics and identify key thermal efficiency parameters. This work establishes a closed-loop thermal cycle that repurposes energy-storage waste heat to power AWH, enabling sorbent regeneration without solar heating. The strategy offers a pathway to enhance thermal efficiency across various energy and environmental systems through internal heat recovery.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. Wanwan Fu (Wuhan Polytechnic University) for assistance with thermal simulation.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51536003), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University UGC funding (P0044994 and P0052426), and City University of Hong Kong (Grant No. 7020100).
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Chen, W., Luo, M., Tan, Y. et al. Symbiotic heat sharing in MOF-based atmospheric water generators for battery thermal management and sorbent regeneration.
Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-76774-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-76774-z
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