[S2E5] GreenCitySolutions - Fighting air polution with moss

In this episode we Talk Energy with Gill Scheltjens, the CEO of D-CRBN. An innovative start-up that recycles CO2 emissions to divide it into CO and O2, that has many other uses in other businesses, like fuels, polymers and other chemicals. Starting a closed cycle of CO2 emissions into various industries.  With an astonishing goal to recycle 1 million tonnes of CO2 per industrial installation, D-CRBN surely stands among the companies whose technology would enable us to make a positive difference on this planet Come find out more about this process, their technology and what it takes to innovate at this level.

Join us as we dive into the world of clean technology with Enerdrape. In this episode of “Talk Energy with YES-Europe”, we explore how they manage to capture thermal energy from the ground without drilling it. Discover how Enerdrape is unlocking the energy potential in untapped environments and providing sustainable solutions for cities and urban areas. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation with the CEO/Founder of Enerdrape, Margaux Peltier!

A worldwide shift to renewables requires a global storage capacity of more than 15,000 TWh in 2050!!! Kraft Block is taking this problem and ran with it. They figured that Industrial Waste Heat is also a type of renewable energy. However, it is currently released into the atmosphere unused for the most part, or sometimes even cooled down at great expense. Kraftblock's storage solutions make waste heat directly usable in the industry and enable the efficient storage of renewable energy. Additionally, unlike wind and solar energy, waste heat can be calculated and controlled and is already available! In Germany alone, the calculated unused potential energy from waste heat is 280 TWh per year. Globally, that number is a lot higher. In this Episode we dive in first into this technology and figure out how they made all this possible with their CEO and Founder Martin Schichtel.

In our new podcast episode of “Talk Energy with YES-Europe”, we interviewed Andrew Gillis, the CEO of Aurora Hydrogen.  Aurora Hydrogen is at the forefront of developing innovative technology that employs microwave energy to heat natural gas (methane) through a process called pyrolysis. This process produces hydrogen and solid carbon without releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In this way, hydrogen can be produced in an environmentally friendly and cost-effective manner.

Join us as we explore the how the world of blockchain can be utilised to revolutionize the drive to climate action

In this episode, we chatted with Sam Kanner, the CEO of Aikido Technologies on how he plans to advance our sustainable future with their exciting floating offshore wind technologies. Sam Kanner joins Breakthrough Energy’s Innovator Fellows program from Aikido Technologies in San Francisco, California.He has been interested in ocean renewable energy since high school and has spent his career working in early-stage wind technology and innovation. At Aikido Technologies, Sam and his team are developing a self-erecting platform for floating, offshore wind turbines to overcome key barriers to increasing offshore wind energy production. Aikido Technologies has designed a self-erecting platform for floating, offshore wind turbines. Their novel system integrates the platform and turbine into a fully assembled unit that can be transported horizontally and is narrow enough to access 80% of ports in the U.S. Once in place, a simple ballasting procedure upends the platform into operational configuration. Through the Fellows program, Aikido Technologies hopes to deploy their first open ocean pilot project. Sam completed his Bachelor of Arts in Physics and Geology at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He earned a Master of Science and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical and Ocean Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Voltiris is a Lausanne-based startup that enables the energy transition of greenhouses by developing and marketing color-optimized solar modules compatible with agriculture, specifically with glass greenhouses. It allows greenhouse owners to transform their greenhouses into renewable powerplants to efficiently control their energy costs and improve the viability and sustainability of their operations. The innovative Voltiris modules allow a double use of agricultural land by producing electricity without reducing the yield of crops placed underneath. Indeed, Voltiris modules filter the light field to transmit the light waves necessary for crop growth. The rest of light is used to generate electricity. With the renewable energy produced, greenhouse owners require less external gas and electricity. They can also significantly reduce their carbon footprint and operational costs. Voltiris has been incorporated as a Swiss legal entity in Lausanne (VD), Switzerland, in February 2022.

In this episode, we discuss the possibility to have a clearer picture about renewable energies with Neeraj Dasila, CTO & Co-founder at SmartHelio, a clean-tech start-up based in Switzerland that quickly grew. Today it is active in the US and India as well, and works with more than 100 companies worldwide. SmartHelio offers a great solution to clients who struggle with the maintenance and performance of their solar farms. Solar panels are delicate and require a lot of investment, which is the reason why the start-up decided to come up with a device that can be connected to the solar farm and collect data through its sensors. They deploy these devices in a strategic manner across solar panels, so they can get a broad and clear picture on how they perform, thus doing deeper diagnostic analysis. Most importantly, the client can also benefit from more services that come with SmartHelio’s solutions. As a matter of fact, the data collected can also provide the client with useful insights on how to maximize performance and production through realistic weather forecast and recommended actions.

In this episode we discussed with Anders Teigland, CEO of TioTech, about battery technology and it's impact on the Energy Transition process and the green shift. This start-up created a patented titania nanoparticle used as anode-material in Lithium-ion batteries, called TitanB, Their speciality is nanotechnology and they were able to create a battery with:  Longer life time:  Li-ion batteries last up to 10.000 cycles. Standard Li-ion batteries with graphite anodes last about 2500-3000 cycles. Shorter charging times: A Li-ion cell with TitanBTM can be charged to 80% within 6 minutes. In a standard Li-ion cell, the same operation would take 25-30 minutes. Both these aspects are important to optimize the charging process which is crucial to the Energy Transition.

In this episode, we discuss innovative solutions to fight air pollution with Peter Sänger, CEO and Co-Founder of Green City Solutions, an European startup that researches solutions to reduce air pollution in urban areas. Green City Solutions was born due to a general lack of focus on achieving a reduction in air pollution levels in urban and non-urban areas. As the name suggests, the startup makes use of the essence of nature and uses its qualities to improve air quality. During their studies, team members found out that moss is a natural ally in fighting air pollution thanks to its  properties and its  adaptability,  and  so  it  should  be used  together  with  human technology. Green City Solutions has indeed a solution to global warming. They developed an innovative product which is a moss module, which can be imagined as a green carpet of moss included in a box, which helps to provide the moss with all its need to keep it healthy. The system itself enhances the moss capacity to filter the air 10 times more than normal filtering systems, and the irrigation system implemented in it allows the moss to be taken and installed anywhere regardless of climate conditions. Moss would be a great resource in our cities. Human beings inhale particles that are invisible to naked eyes, and they are dangerous to our health. By using the product developed by the startup, those particles would be absorbed and transformed in clean air, thus drastically improving health