Ørsted
What: Ørsted is a key participant in renewable vitality, significantly in Europe. The corporate had put in 15.1 gigawatts of renewable vitality capability worldwide as of 2022, and it plans to triple that by 2030.
Ørsted has been particularly central to growing new offshore wind energy. The corporate operates wind farms in Denmark, Germany, and the UK and plans to increase to new markets, together with the US.
Offshore wind tends to be dearer than each land-based wind energy and photo voltaic, however it may nonetheless play a central function in powering coastal communities. Within the US, almost 80% of electrical energy demand happens in coastal states or close to the Nice Lakes, locations the place offshore wind may assist meet demand. Offshore winds are sometimes stronger and are usually extra constant than winds on land, offering a extra fixed electrical energy provide than photo voltaic, for instance.
Why: Ørsted is a good instance of an organization we included due to its work in scaling current applied sciences. It has invested in commercial-scale offshore wind initiatives and helped increase the availability chains wanted to help them. As well as, Ørsted is pushing into new applied sciences, like fuels that may be made utilizing renewable electrical energy.
I’m additionally fascinated by the pivot Ørsted has revamped the previous 15 years. The corporate used to primarily function fossil gasoline property; as of 2008, 85% of its warmth and energy era got here from fossil fuels. Immediately, renewables make up 91% of the corporate’s capability.
Blue Frontier
What: Blue Frontier is constructing a brand new, extra environment friendly air con system by splitting up the work of cooling and decreasing humidity.
The gadget makes use of supplies referred to as desiccants to suck moisture out of the air, decreasing humidity. It then makes use of a way referred to as evaporative cooling to decrease the temperature. (For extra on the way it works, try this story.)
Blue Frontier continues to be within the early levels of constructing its expertise, with two demonstration models working and some dozen extra deliberate for 2024. Nevertheless it says its course of is as much as 3 times extra environment friendly than a standard air conditioner and will reduce whole vitality consumption by AC models by 60%.