A solar water desalination plant, a ridesharing app, a biodegradable and hydrosoluble plastic, a solar-paneled car, a multi-material optical sorting machine… These solutions are very diverse and tackle many different issues. Each of these solutions, developed by startups or large corporates, have a proven positive impact on the environment, from reducing CO2 consumption, reducing waste, or improving recycling processes.
There is still some hope on limiting global warming to 1.5°C, stated a report from the IPCC issued today. It will take a change of “no documented historic precedent” of our economic model, but it can be done. If we don’t, the report outlines the devastating effects on our planet. Indeed, adding just half a degree to that 1.5℃ threshold could have disastrous consequences on the world’s population.
At the Solar Impulse Foundation, we do not have the solution. But we might have a few solutions. A few months ago, we launched of the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label. Since then, hundreds of Members of the World Alliance for Efficient Solutions have submitted their projects to receive the label set up by Bertrand Piccard. Experts have then closely assessed these companies looking at three main criteria: Their economic profitability, technological feasibility, and environmental and socio-economic impact.
We are proud to present the 50 first labelled Solar Impulse Efficient Solutions:
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
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Kelda Technology
Company: Kelda Technology
Pitch: Halve the amount of water used by your shower without diminishing the experience
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Water SMART Blue Building
Company: Ecosoftt
Pitch: A suite of solutions to allow underserved communities to manage their water resources.
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OSMOSUN® Sea Water & Brackish Water
Company: Mascara Renewable Water
Pitch: Battery-free, solar desalination solution, supplying affordable freshwater to remote communities
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WATA™ technology
Company: Fondation Antenna
Pitch: Devices to locally produce sodium hypochlorite for water treatment and disinfection purposes
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Bio Dispersis LC
Company: Eco Biosis
Pitch: Recycle vinasse, a polluting residue from the alcohol industry, into organic additives for concrete
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SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
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X-Sol 100
Company: Simply Solar
Pitch: Resistant and low-cost solar water heater using special plastic materials.
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25kW Low-to-Medium Temperature Stirling Engine
Company: Cool Energy, Inc.
Pitch: Stirling Engine modules to generate clean electricity from waste heat locally.
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Qpinch Chemical Heat Transformer
Company: Qpinch
Pitch: Capture waste heat and release at a higher temperature through a physico-chemical reaction.
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BS2 Zeleganz
Company: BS2 AG
Pitch: All-in-one energy system for emission-free buildings.
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low-cost SUBSTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY FOR OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES
Company: ESTEYCO S.A.P.
Pitch: Bottom-fixed offshore turbine prototype that can be installed safely, simply and without cranes.
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District Cooling Systems as backbone of smart city
Company: Engie
Pitch: Integrated chilled water production system for efficient cooling of buildings in cities.
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BASIL
Company: Basil Energetics Private Limited
Pitch: Fully-integrated rooftop solar and a nano-grid to power IoT-ready DC home appliances.
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Heat recovery system for refrigeration equipment
Company: Boostherm
Pitch: A module to recover all waste heat from cooling systems to heat water to 55°C or more, cost-free.
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PowerCorner – Engie’s Mini-Grid initiative for off-grid areas in Africa
Company: Engie
Pitch: Mini-grids for affordable, reliable, sustainable energy-services for rural and off-grid populations.
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Renewable gas for industrial burners
Company: Meva Energy
Pitch: Producing renewable gas on-site using low-cost local biomass for industrial burners and process heat.
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Cryo Fuel – production of bio-LNG
Company: Cryo Pur
Pitch: A highly efficient cryogenic process that makes the transformation of biogas into clean fuel for heavy vehicles more affordable and widely applicable.
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Solar space heating
Company: Solar Company
Pitch: Solar-powered air heaters and rock bed thermal storage to heat homes.
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Pyrowatts
Company: Africa Energy Waste
Pitch: A scalable gasifier for decentralised waste management generating ecologically-minded energy.
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SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
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STARKLAB - TERRAOSAVE
Company: TERRAO (STARKLAB SAS)
Pitch: Increasing air quality while significantly cutting down on energy costs thanks to a technology that recycles the heat of polluting fumes.
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Long range & high bay occupancy detector for lighting control and automation of high warehouses, parking lots, industrial and urban areas
Company: Intelligent architecture LLC
Pitch: Cost-effective occupancy detection technology for large areas such as warehouses and parking lots.
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h-aero™ zero
Company: Hybrid-Airplane Technologies GmbH
Pitch: Solar-powered helium Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for versatile monitoring activities.
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WOODOO
Company: WOODOO
Pitch: Molecularly Enhanced Wood Materials.
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bound4blue
Company: bound4blue
Pitch: Wingsail system for fuel efficiency in the shipping industry.
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REGMAX
Company: SUSTEC GmbH
Pitch: Acid regeneration system enabling recovery of waste acid components created through pickling of stainless steel.
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E.S.T. - Dredging robotic system
Company: Environmental Sediment Treatment
Pitch: An environmental and economic dredging solution to help recycle sediment from lake and river beds.
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CLARANOR
Company: CLARANOR
Pitch: Pulsed light packaging sterilization equipment for bioindustries.
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The EcoStock
Company: Eco-Tech Ceram
Pitch: An eco-designed mobile thermal storage solution for industrial waste heat recovery and renewable storage in recycled ceramics.
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SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
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Sion
Company: Sono Motors GmbH
Pitch: An Electric Vehicle able to recharge itself through integrated solar panels system.
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AntiSmog
Company: New Eco Technologies - NET
Pitch: Reliably measure and reduce air pollution from vehicles through hydrogen technology.
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SeaZen boat club
Company: Seamagine Eco Navigation
Pitch: A 100% autonomous, license free, solar-powered boat service.
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Hawa Dawa GmbH
Company: Hawa Dawa GmbH
Pitch: IoT sensor network to develop and assess targeted air-quality improvement measures.
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Zify App
Company: Zify
Pitch: A shared mobility solution to change the way people commute.
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WeNow
Company: WeNow
Pitch: A plug-and-play solution to reduce fuel costs and make driving 100% carbon neutral.
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EP Tender
Company: EP Tender
Pitch: A range extender for electric vehicles unlocking affordable and convenient long-distance travel.
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LightFi
Company: LightFi
Pitch: Continuously measure building occupancy to optimize energy use for HVAC and lighting.
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A flood alert and forecasting solution
Company: OgoXe
Pitch: A smart, connected flood alert and forecasting solution to monitor real-time river levels and anticipate flood events.
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Smart Cities through Smart Lightning
Company: SmartNodes SA
Pitch: Dynamic and reactive street lighting system to minimize electricity consumption, light pollution in cities.
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VLT® HVAC Drive
Company: Danfoss A/S
Pitch: Unique AC drive for much more efficient Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning system.
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Recovering heat from CO2 refrigeration systems
Company: Danfoss A/S
Pitch: Standardized, ready-to-install solution for supermarkets to heat buildings or water through waste heat.
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Animeo Connect
Company: Somfy
Pitch: Facade shading management solution for increased energy savings in buildings.
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BoostHEAT 20kW for domestic application
Company: BoostHeat
Pitch: Halve energy consumption for space heating, hot water and air-conditioning in households.
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H3Zoom.AI
Company: H3 Dynamics
Pitch: Autonomous data collection and analytics solution to identify defects on buildings’ exterior façade.
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SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
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Cycle Feed
Company: Cycle Farms
Pitch: Insect-based feed for West African tilapia farmers.
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Agolin® Ruminant
Company: Agolin
Pitch: A blend of high quality plant extracts that reduce methane production in dairy cows and beef cattle.
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RT7000
Company: Recycling Technologies Limited
Pitch: A machine to recycle 'unrecyclable' plastics in an economically viable way.
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FLEXIBUSTER™
Company: SEaB Energy
Pitch: A small-scale, easy to install, and modular designed container to transform organic waste into energy.
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Lactips
Company: Lactips
Pitch: Making biodegradable plastic from waste milk protein for a sustainable packaging alternative.
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Pellenc ST
Company: Pellenc ST
Pitch: Multi-material optical sorting machine to help recycle large amounts of waste quickly and accurately.
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NETRIS
Company: Sensile Technologies
Pitch: A remote monitoring solutions of tanks to improve the efficiency of the supply chain for bulk deliveries based on an innovative telemetry unit coupled with sensors and a cloud solution.
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Sustonable
Company: Sustonable
Pitch: Kitchen countertops from recycled PET bottles.
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This article was originally published on the Solar Impulse website.
