Four years after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $710,000 for the development of a revolutionary waterless toilet, the technology has received a second financial boost.

The Nano Membrane Toilet, as developers at Cranfield University call it, now has an additional grant that is “substantially more” than all prior funding, according to a Cranfield spokesperson, who declined to provide the exact amount. Researchers will use the money to continue developing the lab prototype and begin field trials in Africa.

Their mission is an important one: Estimates suggest more than 2.4 billion people around the world still live in unsanitary conditions. Without access to clean running water, these at-risk communities face life-threatening sanitation-related diseases.

The waterless and easy-to-use Nano Membrane is meant to offset this scarcity.

Read full story and more Photos: Business Insider