Eliminating waste acid from stainless steel industry

SUSTEC is focusing on green technologies to reduce the environmental impact of existing technologies. SUSTEC has developed a process they call 'REGMAX' to overcome existing problems with mixed acid pickling and its regeneration. According to SUSTEC, the REGMAX process enables total recovery of all waste acids components: The process is applicable for all metal and acid concentrations and gives freedom of choosing the optimum pickling conditions for best pickling performance. The closed material loop minimizes the operational costs and environmental impact of pickling.

Austria

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Design of small-scale concentrated solar power plants

In a project called 'Solarbosch', Enerbosh is developing small-scale concentrated solar power tower (CSP-T) plants, with ranges from 0.5 to 3 MWe for power generation or 1 to 10 MWh for heat processes on a 24/7 basis. Current CSP-T plants use molten salts as heat transfer fluid (HTF) and storage medium, reaching temperatures up to 560 °C. This is only profitable at very large scales due to the high investment required. In this project the CSP-T plant uses air as HTF, which can easily exceed 1000 °C. The heat storage medium is copper slag, a Chilean mining industry by-product (low cost), with ideal heat storage properties up to 1,000 °C.

Chile

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High capacity drone spreading system

Nordluft Automation offers solutions of forestry and agriculture spreading systems using drones. The solutions offered by the company are focused on two areas: First, forest fertilization, where a group of drones combined with a platform can be used to increase the growth rate of forests while also increasing the amount of CO2 absorbed per area unit. The second main application is ash recycling, where ash created as a by-product in different applications is spread to provide forests with additional nutrients. For both applications, Nordluft has developed their own specialized drone, the NordKopter.

Sweden

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Level-2 AC universal EV charging stations

DrivAmp provides solutions for smart electric vehicle charging infrastructure to enable the transition to global electric mobility through products and software services. DrivAmp has developed a range of level-2 AC charging stations ranging in capacity from 3.3 kW to 43 kW power outputs which they claim are capable of charging all types of electric vehicles. This includes a protocol to ensure maximum safety of users and at the same time the ability to cater to most vehicles in the Indian electric vehicle market. Furthermore, the goal is to help enterprises to set up a network of electric vehicle charging stations with a focus on safety, security and energy access.

India

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Energy efficient portable cold chain solution

The innovation is a cooling box with a fast-charging eutectic thermal battery. According to the company, they have reduced the common 14-15 hour charging time to 4.5 hours. This helps increase viability of the battery as well a serving as a reduction of operational costs. By combining this battery with stand-alone cooling boxes, the company allows for stacking of individual boxes, thus reducing the need for refrigerated trucks. The company states that the cooling solution can be used on most vehicles including two-wheelers.

India

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Crowd-funded investing for energy access in Africa

Lendahand and Ethex’s Energise Africa is an online platform which enables everyday people to use their money to accelerate the implementation of UN SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy for all) and tackle climate change, whilst also targeting a financial return. People can invest small or large amounts in solar businesses that install solar systems in homes across Africa, enabling low-income families to access solar energy via monthly payment plans.

United Kingdom

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Peer-to-peer solar electricity trading platform

SOLshare claims to have developed the world’s first peer-to-peer solar electricity trading platform that leverages existing solar home systems (SHS) in an off-grid context to create a bottom-up smart grid. SOLshare’s SOLbox is a DC bi-directional power meter, solar charge controller and end-user device that functions as an individual node of the electricity trading network. SOLbox allows the trading network to grow dynamically from the ‘bottom-up’ as more users connect over time. The innovation integrates mobile money payment, data analytics and grid management services. As the network related to the innovation grows it can also connect off-grid locations internationally

India

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Crowdfunding of solar projects in emerging markets

Ecoligo provides a fully financed solar-as-a-service (SaaS) solution for businesses in emerging markets. By providing a digital platform for financing and delivering solar projects, ecoligo aims to remove the barriers that prevent such projects from being realised. Their aspiration is that supplying businesses with affordable electricity will enable them to grow and boost the local economy. The innovation includes raising the necessary finance for the project, the construction and insurance of the solar system, scheduled maintenance, operation and management.

Germany

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Effective industrial drying of biomass

Swedish Exergy develops solutions for sustainability and optimization of energy usage in industry sectors such as energy, waste and paper, mainly in the areas of drying and bulk feeding solutions. One of the solutions is a steam dryer for biomass that recovers 80% or more of the input energy in a closed-loop system which stops any emissions from entering the atmosphere. According to the company it is also easy to maintain and to integrate with other processes for energy optimization.

Sweden

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Spinning cylinder for wind power of vessels

Windjammers were a class of sailing vessels built from the 1870s to 1900. As engine technology developed, they were slowly phased out and replaced by steamships which were faster and could stay on schedule regardless of wind conditions. The idea behind Norsepower’s Rotor Sail Solution is to develop a spinning cylinder that harnesses wind power to generate the thrust needed to propel modern vessels. When conditions are favorable, the Norsepower Rotor Sails allow the main engines to be throttled back, saving fuel and reducing emissions while providing the power needed to maintain speed and voyage time.

Finland

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