A SMALL Victorian company reckons it has found a way to prevent 3.5 million deaths a year from water-borne diseases while also cutting emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

F CUBED, based in Somerton, has been working on its solar-powered desalination system for about six years and started selling the units commercially in November.

Earlier this month, F CUBED was recognised internationally and invited to join the Clinton Global Initiative, which aims to partner companies with technologies that may provide solutions to key environmental challenges.

The modular unit, which retails for $362.50 plus GST and freight, works by running saltwater through a gravity-fed pipe at the top.

The water disperses evenly as it runs down the solar collector evaporator. The solar power heats the water, which vaporises and then condenses on the inside of the plastic panel enclosure. The distilled water runs to the bottom of the unit where it is collected.