1000 Solutions - December 16, 2021
New collaboration to improve e-waste recycling and more - December Solutions' Update
Written by Sophie de Blonay 4 min read
It is time to close the year with some more exciting news from the Solar Impulse Foundation's Labeled Solutions. Funding rounds secured, a positive step toward the end of plastic waste in the environment and prestigious Awards won. Through this series of articles we have been able to demonstrate the rigor, determination and relevance of our Labeled Solutions on a monthly basis. The journey doesn't stop there, and we look forward to building on these success in 2022!
Swiss Vault is part of a new collaboration to improve e-waste recycling
Swiss Vault is leading a consortium to build Zero Waste Data storage systems. Supported by the European Commission’s GHG program, the team will utilize nanosensor technology to address how to design data storage hardware to improve the recycling and recovery of precious metals and materials. The partners of the consortium bring complementary expertise to address this problem. Swiss Vault’s Labeled Solution is an innovative data storage hardware which is purpose-built for the circular economy by achieving comparable computational processing performance at a significantly lower core operating temperature and much greater expected life time. The innovative technology can thus reduce energy consumption by 10 times.
Daanaa closes a $7M in Series A funding led by VoLo Earth Ventures
Daanaa Resolution, inc. just announced a Series A investment of USD 7M led by VoLo Earth Ventures! The funding will be used to complete Daanaa’s first product in the solar energy vertical and move into commercialization. VoLo Earth, a venture capital firm investing in the new energy economy, sees Daanaa as a versatile technology addressing the global climate crisis. Daanaa’s proprietary semiconductor provides medium and modality-free power transactions. This allows solar panels to overcome conventional hardware restrictions of cell connectivity, optimizers and inverter composition, dramatically increasing power production and reducing Balance of System costs. Daanaa’s Solution contributes towards a higher efficiency in energy transmission and reduces the need for primarily materials including metals as copper normally needed for energy transmission.
ZeroAvia secures an additional $35M in funding for Zero-Emission Flight Technology
Following on the November Solutions’ update blog post, ZeroAvia has secured an additional $35 Million in funding from new investor United Airlines and existing investors Alaska Air Group, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, AP Ventures, Breakthrough Enery Ventures, Horizons Ventures, Summa Equity and Shell Ventures. This brings the company’s total investment to date up to $115 Million and sets ZeroAvia on track to achieve commercialization for its hydrogen propulsion technology in 2024. This specific funding round will be used to target the next segment of 40-80 seat aircraft, after achieving 10-20 seat aircraft for commercial purposes, and beyond.
Hydrogen Power Module was chosen to provide a zero emission auxiliary to power solution to decarbonize ferries
Genevos’ Hydrogen Power Module was chosen under the £2.2 million HIMET (Hydrogen in an Integrated Maritime Energy Transition) project to provide a zero emission auxiliary power solution which will be installed for demonstration purposes on the deck of an Orkney Ferry. The Hydrogen Power Module was chosen primarily due to its ‘plug and play’ marinised concept, integrating both fuel cell systems and power management. Led by EMEC Hydrogen based in Orkney, HIMET is one of 55 projects selected for funding under the Department for Transport’s flagship Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. The project will explore solutions for decarbonising ferries as well as shore-side activities in ports.
HolyGrail 2.0 was featured in Alliance to End Plastic Waste progress report
The AEPW is a non-profit organization that brings together governments, companies, and communities to end plastic waste in the environment. HolyGrails 2.0 aims to improve post-consumer recycling, with the aim of moving closer to a circular economy. Their idea is to use Digital Watermarks in their packaging. The concept of hidden information through printing invisible to the human eye is not new with examples used for passport control or high end drinks such as whiskey to prove against fraud. However, the Pioneer project HolyGrail aims to accelerate the transition to a Circular Economy for plastic packaging by focusing on an important pillar to increase recycling rates, namely improved sorting with the help of digital watermarks.
Rockease Platform was awarded as one of the of the Top 50 Contech Startups of 2021 by Cemex Ventures
The digitalization of the construction sector has taken another step forward! The Solar Impulse Foundation’s Labeled Solution Rockease has been awarded by Cemex Ventures as one of the Top 50 Contech Startups of 2021 from the construction technology ecosystem. Rockease offers a digital Solution to facilitate the ordering of aggregates, reduce costs and optimize the transport. By optimizing the selection of production sites and trucks, they will not only allow to the reduction of pricing for end users, but also the quantity of trucks on the road, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Sollum Technologies, recipient of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 ™ Awards
Sollum Technologies was named a recipient of Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 ™ Awards in the Companies-to-watch category. This award recognized Sollum as a leader in business and innovation and confirms the efficiency and profitability of their solution. Sollum Technologies’ Labeled Solution Sollum is a lighting system for greenhouses. Their smart lighting solution uses LED’s to recreate the full spectrum of the sun’s natural light. The innovator offers “SUN as a service” that is a cloud based service. The system architecture is based on the same topology as a telecom network and allows an easy expansion of the system, Sollum is the only technology available on the market which dynamically modulates the full spectrum of the sun’s natural light according to greenhouses producer’s needs.
Dryad Networks wins an Innovation Award at Berlin-Brandenburg
Dryad Networks won the prestigious Innovation Award Berlin-Branddenburg for their Labeled Solution Silvanet! Silvanet is a system for the early detection of wildfires, including sensors, wireless networks and an analytic platform. Their distributed sensors with real-time connection to the local fire services can speed up the process of detection and pin-point the source of the fire which make it easier to contain a fire before its spread. As a fire reduction tool, Silvanet allows for CO2 emission reductions and prevents biodiversity loss associated with wildfires.
Written by Sophie de Blonay on December 16, 2021
