Five Cleantech Innovations for a Better World
By IBI Insights
Date
November 16, 2016
On November 8, while most eyes were focused on the United States, 马拉喀什第22届联合国气候变化大会传来重要消息:2016年有望成为 warmest year on record. The outcome of the US election was not a promising step in the fight against climate change. 然而，近年来清洁技术创新者取得的显著进步抵消了这一环境挫折. 虽然这些创新者中的许多人都致力于创造一个更可持续的世界, they also recognize the market potential for their products. 毫无疑问，应对气候变化带来的生存威胁是令人生畏的, but here are five technologies that will help:
墨西哥城曼努埃尔·赫亚·冈萨雷斯医院的外立面可以中和引起烟雾的有害化学物质. Image: Elegant Embellishments
By spraying buildings with a titanium dioxide treatment, facades and roofs can become smog neutralizers. When exposed to sunlight, the cost-effective treatment reacts 燃料燃烧产生的氧化亚氮将这些化学物质分解成危害较小的化合物. When the treatment was applied to a Mexico City hospital, 人们发现，这座建筑可以减轻1000辆汽车造成的空气污染. 治疗的积极影响可以通过a来进一步增强 quasicrystalline facade design that can increase building surface area by 200%. The result? Cleaner air and visually appealing buildings.
Solar “wallpaper” by Sunflare. Image: Sunflare
Between thin-film solar “wallpaper” and Tesla’s new solar roofs在美国，在标准屋顶上安装重型太阳能电池板的日子似乎即将结束. Thin-film solar cells are lightweight, 更少的资源密集制造，可以附着在任何双面胶带也可以粘. 它也很灵活，这意味着它也可以用在曲面上. 特斯拉的太阳能屋顶不需要电池板，因为它本身就是屋顶. 它有多种风格，基本上与普通屋顶没有区别. Currently, 它们的运行效率是标准太阳能电池板的98%(还在改进中), have “quasi-infinite” lifespans and are expected to cost less than a standard roof. 为什么有人会选择旧的、不耐用的、更昂贵的选择呢?
Tesla’s Powerwall 2 can power a two bedroom home for 24 hours. Image: Tesla
The Tesla solar roof builds on previous cleantech innovation, like a power storing battery, at the company. 传统可再生能源的一个主要缺点是难以在真正需要的时候(通常不是中午)储存能量。. 特斯拉的第一款Powerwall电池组展示了去中心化存储的潜力. But it’s the release of the Powerwall 2, 它的储能容量是现在的两倍多，每千瓦时的安装成本约为现在的一半，预计可以为一个两卧室的房子提供24小时的电力, that could normalize battery packs in homes around the world.
Pavegen’s V3 tiles harness the power of walking (literally). Image: Pavegen
Sidewalks that Harness Kinetic Energy
That spring in your step could power the lights above your head. Pavegen地砖在踩上去时会轻微下沉，同时旋转一个储能飞轮. 这种创新的第三代产品，当有人走过时，可以连续产生5瓦的电力. At this rate, 这项技术还远远不能为家庭或建筑物供电, but could be used to power LED streetlights. Given that it could be applied anywhere that people walk, 实现每一步更高的能源产量可能会改变游戏规则.
District heating in Vancouver’s Olympic Village. Image: City of Vancouver
These are not a new technologies, but they are spreading and increasing in efficiency. Well-established systems, like the one in Copenhagen, save households roughly 1,400€ a year, while eliminating the creation of approximately 665,000 tons of CO2 anually. As temperatures rise (hottest year on record, remember?)，区域供冷系统在减少能源消耗方面也将变得重要. Stockholm’s newest district cooling system serves about 70,每年可减少总共45gwh的能源消耗, saving roughly 5,000 tons of CO2 from reaching our atmosphere. Most importantly, these systems it’s catching on in cities that do not have longstanding traditions of using district heating or cooling.
Do these innovations mean that climate change is solved? Not by a long shot. But with continued innovation and a sustained commitment to healthy mobility (among other things), 我们可以减少气候变化的影响，同时让我们所有人的生活变得更好一点.
