Best 11 green tech trends to watch this year
What are the Top 11 Green Tech Trends to Watch This Year?
The top green tech trends this year are highly likely to lie in the areas of Green Hydrogen fuels, Solar & Wind energies, Nuclear Fusion research, Energy Storage and the Electric Vehicles sector.
As our world continues to get a grip on our environmental challenges, our economic and scientific communities are making advances in green technology. This gives us much hope in a bright and sustainable future.
Here are the top eleven green tech trends to watch this year:
1. Green Hydrogen: One Future for Clean Energy
Green hydrogen has emerged as a promising clean-burning, transportable and potent energy source. This technology and fuel additionally allows the gap between areas of low and high solar, wind and water power sources to be effectively bridged, as hydrogen can be produced where renewable energy is plentiful and then shipped with relative ease. Ongoing research and development in this green technology are set to bring clean green hydrogen into the mainstream.
The benefits of green hydrogen:
– reduced carbon emissions in production
– enhanced energy security
– offers the potential for large-scale storage and transportation
2. Solar and Wind Power: Costs continue to fall
Over the last ten years, continued investment into solar and wind power production methods has made the costs drop rapidly. Providing solar and wind power solutions is now cheaper than fossil fuels.
Governments and industry are now focused on further improving and scaling these technologies to meet net zero commitments and continue to supply needed power to our world. After all, if people don’t have adequate power supplies, or are facing living on a trashed planet, they are unlikely to support you in elections or buy from you in stores.
Key Highlights:
– Solar and wind power are now cheaper than fossil fuels
– Significant savings are projected globally by 2050
3. Nuclear Fusion: Near-limitless Clean Energy
Research into nuclear fusion, the same process of energy production which drives every star in the universe, is showing notable progress. Recent breakthroughs have shown that once brought onstream, nuclear fusion will be able to produce near-limitless, safe, and clean energy. However, we are a long way from mainstream production at current levels of investment in this technology.
Potential Benefits:
– Provides a massive energy output with minimal waste
– Eventually removing our reliance on fossil fuels
– Very long-term sustainability
4. Advanced Energy Storage Solutions
Crucial for reliable renewable energy are advanced forms of energy storage and batteries. Ensuring that we can store and recall our excess energy is vital to ensuring supply and demand can be balanced and communities effectively served.
Types of Energy Storage:
– Lithium-ion batteries
– Solid-state batteries (eg molten salt)
– Pumped hydro storage
5. Sustainable Transportation: Electric and Hydrogen Vehicles
There are big changes in transportation going on, with fleets shifting to sustainable power with electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. These vehicles reduce the carbon footprint of individual vehicles and the sector as a whole, but it is worth noting that generation of power at source must also be renewable to gain the most benefit here.
After all, your EV isn’t very green if you charged it up from mains power provided by a coal fired power plant.
Advantages:
– Lower greenhouse gas emissions
– Reduced air pollution
– Enhanced energy efficiency
6. Carbon Capture Technologies
Carbon Capture works at large industrial emission locations both power grid and other industry. Emissions are filtered and the carbon dioxide drawn off and stored safely underground. Oil fields in use can also be used, having the advantage of pressurizing returning oil to the surface and increasing the efficiency of production.
Industries are also looking at the trading of carbon credits futures stocks based on this activity. This is another growth area of this sector with a staggering revenue forecast in 2030 of USD 4,734.35 billion.
7. Electric Aviation
The Aviation industry has long been a recognized polluter of the skies, with its burning of fossil fuels high in the atmosphere which causes more damage more quickly than similar amounts lower down in the air column. With the number of flights increasing steadily as the planet becomes more interconnected, driving down this industry’s carbon footprint is always a priority, especially with consumers becoming more aware of the problem and increasingly likely to not fly as a result.
With the improvements in both battery technology, weight saving materials and propulsion systems, it is now possible for a range of smaller aircraft to be produced which are wholly electric and non-polluting. And with major companies for example EasyJet partnering with Wright Electric to look at a possible large plane prototype, we are sure to see those also in the near future.
However, due to limitations of battery weight, long haul remains in the very distant future. Long haul flights will likely go to clean biofuels instead for the greener option.
Exciting events in the ‘personal drone taxicab’ sector are also proposed, with many shiny exciting press releases and conceptual videos. These however have yet to conquer a raft of issues including but not limited to – air traffic management in cities, automated and safe flight controls, cost, infrastructure, battery lifespans, human error (IBM/PICNIC faults) etc.
However, the image of Jetsons style aircars has been a staple of the contemporary imagination for as long as most people alive can remember, and we are unlikely to shake this off until we get them.
Another angle on electric aviation is the resurgence of an old idea – airships. Yes, the Hindenburg. Which effectively killed off the idea of passenger airships, along with around a third of its own passengers, on that tragic day in May 1937. The problem was that it was both spectacular and probably the first major air disaster to ever be caught on camera. Along with the voice recording of the horrified reporter Herbert Morrison being replayed in cinemas around the world, this concept was truly over. Hydrogen would never again be used in this way to transport passengers.
However, this was almost 100 years ago. Airship technology has moved on, with dangerous flammable Hydrogen giving way to safe, inert, squeaky voice making Helium. Add large surface area for solar panels, advanced batteries and high-efficiency lift surfaces and propulsion into the mix, and you have a recipe for these graceful behemoths to take to the sky again.
Passenger or Freight, they can go swiftly point to point anywhere on the planet and with waterproofing can even set down on water to ride out bad weather or make/collect payloads.
Therefore we can see that this sector has lots of EV potential. It will be exciting to see what developments come through to the market, and the spin off service opportunities they create…
8. Energy-Efficient Smart Buildings
The Smart Building. Another idea whose time has come, and after all who wouldn’t want to live or work in a building that runs efficiently and is harmonious with its occupants while saving on expenditure and helping reduce climate change?
But how will it do it I hear you ask?
They will integrate the Internet of Things (smart gadgets) with AI to match needs to resources with best logistical efficiencies. For example – your workstation close to 5pm detects you closing apps and switching your lamp and PC off – so the underground garage begins moving your car from its rack store up to the carpark on the surface. Or lunchtime approaches and in the kitchen the coffee machine anticipates a rush on coffee and brews a fresh pot (or three).
At other times these systems remain quiescent, using only a trickle of energy to stay awake. The AI watches all and feeds energy into the system only where needed, saving much wastage over time. Let’s assume for comfort’s sake the AI is sane and not cast by Stanley Kubrick of course…
The building itself is built from sustainable materials and incorporates solar panels for energy generation and green walls for air quality and morale. It will have top rated insulation and temperature control systems for low energy use and high results. Its concrete may be part of the power system and a super-capacitor battery.
All these methods incorporated into a single structure will make it a pleasant and efficient, sustainable place to either live or to work, or both.
9. Algae Biofuel
BioFuels from Algae… possible? Yes.
Research into this promising line of sustainable fuel production has a long history going back to before the second world war. It was looked at again during the Suez Crisis in the 70’s when again, fossil fuel prices in the west rocketed and shortages were frequent.
Advantages of this method are several – it can be produced in places that do not compete with regular crop production, freeing up those crops to go to feeding people and herds. Since algae uses Carbon Dioxide to grow, it is a nearly carbon neutral fuel production method, utilizing the very pollutant we need to reduce down anyway.
It is a renewable resource, in the case of Butanol, a fuel with only a 10% lower difference from standard fossil fuels energy density, (and which can also be used in vehicles without making any modifications to the fuel systems) this fuel can be produced from the waste product of the previous refining process to produce other oil rich lipids.
It has also been shown that seaweed can be fermented to produce Butanol, which when blended with gasoline produces better performance with lower corrosion than Ethanol does.
There are a variety of methods of producing biofuels from algae and plant matter – the most common being solar refineries and growing ponds. With biofuels already available and in use, this sector can only grow, providing a viable and renewable alternative to carbon polluting oil.
10. Geothermal Energy
Geothermal Power is a superb renewable power source. While it is limited to areas of high vulcanism (places where the magma of the earth’s core approaches closer to the surface producing active volcanoes, hot springs and geysers), this power source in such places is 100% clean and renewable, with the only outgoings being installation and maintenance costs for production facilities.
The method is simple. After drilling down into the water table to a pocket of water (an aquifer or fracture), water is pumped into this cavity. The high temperatures present there heat the water, which is then fed back up into a steam powered generator.
The hot water ‘waste’ product (still perfectly clean) can then be fed back down for reheating or drawn off to provide heating to buildings. Places like Iceland are well known for providing most if not all of their power needs from renewable power plants.
Even a relatively ‘warm’ differential in heat can be exploited by increasingly advanced heat pump technologies, making geothermal a very useful addition to the renewables sector
11. Eco-Friendly Data Centers
Data Centers, also known as ‘Server Farms’ are the vital hubs of the internet, and with its inevitable growth in capacity, these buildings are also growing. AI, with its greedy appetite for processing power and bandwidth, is simply adding to demand.
Therefore, such Data Centers are heavy users of both energy for processing and cooling the servers, so they function properly. Because this is obviously a major usage of power collectively, and power production is a major polluter, eco-friendly server farms are a priority both now and going into the future.
Green server provision is now an active service in the marketplace, using AI management to reduce power consumption and renewable energy sources for power. Such companies are also invested in using carbon neutral building techniques and reusing previously occupied structures and locations.
For the IT sector, Green Servers for AI is definitely the breakthrough development of the year.
These technologies are shaping the future of sustainable industries, driven by regulatory support and corporate interest.
Conclusion:
These 11 trends in green technology are the current front runners making an impact on people’s lives and the marketplace. They offer us both insight into the paths technology will take going forwards, and opportunities for investment and growth.
They are some of the building blocks of the sustainable future and are worth taking notice of and following.
FAQs
Q: What is green technology?
A: Green technology, also known as sustainable technology, is any technology based on ethical ecological practices to achieve clean, repeatable results.
Q: How does fusion energy work?
A: Fusion energy is the same process that occurs in the hearts of stars. Two atomic nuclei of light weight are forced together by enormous pressures and heat to form one heavier nuclei, and in the process this releases a torrent of energy and a little short-lived radiation.
Q: What is hydroponics?
A: Hydroponics lets us grow top quality green produce in virtually any locale, while using minimal water and no damaging pesticides.
Q: How does eco-friendly packaging help the planet?
A: Compostable packaging is made from biodegradable materials that rot down without leaving toxic residue. It reduces plastic waste and supports the circular economy, which recycles materials back into the supply network.
Q: What are smart grids?
A: Smart grids use digital technology to maximise efficiency on a power network. They save money and power, reducing the burden on the network and lower CO2 emissions.
Q: How does carbon capture and storage work?
A: Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies capture carbon emissions from industrial processes and store them underground, preventing them from entering the atmosphere.
Q: What is the Internet of Things (IoT)?
A: The IoT connects devices together into a data-sharing network.
