An Israeli invention that produces clean water out of thin air could save millions of lives around the world.

The machine, created by Arye Kohavi, the founder of Tel Aviv start-up Water-Gen, sucks the humidity out of the air and turns it into drinking water. The process uses so little electricity that the machine can be battery-powered, which means that it can be used by poor, remote communities without access to safe water.

Mr Kohavi's machines were originally designed to be used by the IDF, which has been using them for two years, but have also been sold to the US military and may soon be bought by the British army.

Mr Kohavi recently travelled to India to launch his invention. "This is huge, because in India the water infrastructure is so bad and the water quality is awful," said Mr Kohavi, who was named as one of Foreign Policy magazine's 100 Leading Global Thinkers.

In India, well over 500 people die every day result of water pollution.

The machines vary in size from small domestic models to large ones for public buildings.

The internationally renowned water expert Avner Adin, a Hebrew University professor who was awarded the Mexican government's highest honour for water research, is excited by the potential. "Water is life," he said. "People are dying every day so it's a very promising development."