Sector Insights

Could Methanol Become an Important Fuel for Energy and Mobility?

Louis Brasington
Posted on by Louis Brasington
With a global demand of more than 80 million metric tons and a growth rate of 5.4%, methanol is gaining acceptance. The market is projected to be worth $54 billion by 2021. Its uses vary greatly – from adhesives and PET bottles to fleece jackets, packaging, paints and solvents. A key application is the energy market. China alone, as the largest producer and consumer, accounts for 54% of world demand. Alongside oil, gas and hydrogen, methanol is an important fuel... Read More »

Fighting Fast Fashion: Innovation for a Circular Economy

Josh Gilbert
Posted on by Josh Gilbert
Today’s fashion industry causes considerable environmental damage. According to a 2018 UN report, it is responsible for around 10% of global carbon emissions. Energy-intensive raw inputs like polyester and cotton are predominant, the industry is responsible for 2% of global freshwater extraction, and the US alone sends over ten billion tons of textiles waste to landfill every year. Solving the fast fashion problem Innovation is helping the industry shift towards a more circular model of textiles manufacturing and providing new... Read More »

Food News: Motif Ingredients – Microbes to Meat, the Race is on…

Chris Sworder
Posted on by Chris Sworder
The news about Ginkgo Bioworks spinning out Motif Ingredients signals an acceleration in the race to create an alternative meat. Plant-based meat has opened the door to consumer acceptance. Now the challenges are overcoming production bottlenecks and improving the taste, feel and versatility of the products. With $90 million of fresh capital, an impressive set of investors and a pedigree from Ginkgo Bioworks, the race is on. Spotlight on burgers Plant-based burgers are making the news, with the latest offerings including the UAE-based... Read More »

2019 Energy Trends: Answers from Cleantech Innovation Leaders

Louis Brasington
Posted on by Louis Brasington
At the 2019 Cleantech Forum San Francisco, we launched this year's Global Cleantech 100 Report; an assessment of the companies most likely to make a significant market impact within the next five to ten years. Forty companies in the Energy & Power sector featured on the list. And, last year investment into this sector reached $3.4 billion across 378 equity deals, $900 million more than 2017. We sat down with two of the 2019 Global Cleantech 100 companies, GreenSync and... Read More »

Meat Alternatives on the Move

Chris Sworder
Posted on by Chris Sworder
An FAO estimation says we are on track for a 9 billion-person planet by 2050, and along with the people comes a 50% increased appetite for protein. Traditional protein for human consumption comes from animals and fish, with soy increasingly part of the landscape. The non-traditional or alternative proteins market ($4.2 billion in 2016) is around 1% of the traditional protein market, but is expected to grow more than 25% by 2022. The drivers are both perceived health benefits and... Read More »

How Digitization is Transforming Logistics Services

Leo Zhang
Posted on by Leo Zhang
The increasing volume of global trades will put more pressure on the existing supply chain, with the logistics services sector estimated to reach a value of $16,445 billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 7.4%. A confluence of forces – Amazon and Alibaba, electrification and sustainability, autonomy and robotics, among others – are changing the logistics industry to become more resource efficient, faster, and responsive to customer needs. Digitization is a key enabler. Get additional insight into the latest trends... Read More »

Food Safety: From Problems to Opportunities

Chris Sworder
Posted on by Chris Sworder
Anyone growing, selling or eating food in the US could not have missed what seems like a growing number of recent pathogen outbreaks. There have been two outbreaks of E. coli in romaine lettuce. A cyclosporiasis outbreak was linked back to a McDonald’s restaurant. A badly timed salmonella outbreak affected Thanksgiving turkey products while another salmonella outbreak in ground beef led to the largest food recall in US history as over 12 million pounds were recalled before Christmas. However, despite... Read More »

China and Cleantech in 2019: The Innovation Ecosystem and Paths to Market Entrance

Leo Zhang
Posted on by Leo Zhang
Our recent Next-Gen Energy & Cross-Border Innovation Summit in Nanjing looked at cleantech investment trends, market dynamics and commercialization opportunities in China. This was our ninth event in China and a focal point of our efforts to guide and connect western innovation companies to Chinese partners and customers. Here, you’ll find insights into power, energy and mobility, as well as pointers on market entrance from the summit. China's cleantech lay of the land China’s market potential is perhaps the biggest... Read More »

The Role of Green Hydrogen in Global Decarbonization

Louis Brasington
Posted on by Louis Brasington
There are over 60 million tons of hydrogen produced annually, worth almost $100 billion dollars. Today, 80% of the hydrogen we produce is for three main industries: refineries, ammonia production or metal processing. Hydrogen also has the potential to be used as fuel for power and transportation. It generates zero emissions at point of use and can be produced from low-carbon electricity or from carbon-abated fossil fuels. The annual demand for hydrogen could increase tenfold by 2050 – from 8 EJ... Read More »

Data Abundance – Opportunities in Planet Management

Josh Gilbert
Posted on by Josh Gilbert
Author’s note: In January 2019, I will be moderating a panel on the topic of space-based data utilization at the Cleantech Forum San Francisco. In this blog, we look at market dynamics in this segment and highlight some of the innovators who will be joining us in January to discuss these topics in more detail. I hope you will be joining us too! Modern satellites and sensors are capturing huge amounts of data – around 2.5 billion gigabytes per day.... Read More »