Sector Insights

Battery Technology Show Recap: Emerging Battery Technology

Louis Brasington
Posted on by Louis Brasington
Contributions from: Pirmin Ulmann, co-founder and CEO at b-science.net Last month, I was fortunate enough moderate a session at the Battery Technology Show in London. Here are takeaways from that session as well as some additional insight from our own research. Delegates from across the battery industrial supply chain participated in discussions around the technologies and business model innovations that could disrupt their markets in the next few years. Speakers included topic experts like Billy Wu, a senior lecturer at... Read More »

What’s New at the Big 3? A Look at the Innovation of Bayer-Monsanto, Corteva, and Syngenta-ChemChina

Chris Sworder
Posted on by Chris Sworder
We have been speaking to innovation teams from the Big 3 players in plant science, Bayer-Monsanto, Corteva (DowDupont's agricultural business), and Syngenta-ChemChina, to gain insight into their approaches to engaging innovation, how this is changing with the mergers, and where else in the ecosystem they scan for agtech inspiration. Bayer-Monsanto Bayer Growth Ventures will incorporate approaches from both organizations' previous efforts to expand into new areas. Bayer previously focused on collaborations and partnerships, exemplified best by Joyn Bioworks, a joint venture between Bayer and Ginkgo Bioworks. Monsanto has a traditional... Read More »

Building The Pipeline: Corporate Engagement with Industrial Water Innovation

Josh Gilbert
Posted on by Josh Gilbert
Earth may be the blue planet, but both growing population and climate change are creating freshwater scarcity in many geographies. Industrial activities come second only to agriculture in the use of water resources, responsible for 16% of global freshwater withdrawals. Industrial wastewater volumes are predicted to double by 2025, and there is increasingly strict regulation regarding treatment and reuse. This should create incentives for technologies and services, but changes to create or capture this value have been slow. The expertise... Read More »

Driving to the Future: How Autonomous Vehicles are Changing the Automotive Landscape

Leo Zhang
Posted on by Leo Zhang
Safety first. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 94% of US traffic accidents are caused by human errors. Removing the human in human error will go a long way toward eliminating traffic accidents. The challenge: moving from driver assistance to full automation will take time, investment, and a lot of testing. Getting there will be a combination of hardware sensors and software algorithms to process the data and make decisions, hopefully better and faster than humans and with... Read More »

Are We Overdue a Building Construction Revolution?

Louis Brasington
Posted on by Louis Brasington
While global labor productivity has risen by 2.8% in the past 20 years, productivity in construction reportedly has only increased by 1%, and compared to the 3.6% increase for manufacturing, is actually in decline (see Figure 1). If the construction industry could close that gap to match the global economic average, the industry's value could increase by $1.6 trillion, boosting global GDP by 2%. However, the construction industry is extensively regulated, risk averse and hard to navigate for new players.... Read More »

Coming Out of the Cage: The Evolution of Automation and Robotics

Josh Gilbert
Posted on by Josh Gilbert
Manufacturing efficiency gains have played a key role in economic growth throughout the 20th century, and since the 1970s, much of the growth in output can be attributed to more efficient manufacturing and assembly lines driven by automation and robotics. The availability and sophistication of sensors, data and processing power are driving robotics to become more mobile, autonomous and allow them to work alongside people. These applications range from warehouse fulfillment, last-mile logistics, factories, and food preparation – they make... Read More »

Infinite Drivetime: Talking Solar Cars With Lightyear

Louis Brasington
Posted on by Louis Brasington
Solar-powered cars have been mostly experimental vehicles trying to break records at competitions like the World Solar Challenge in Australia. On the commercial side, the efforts have tended toward Solar Assisted Electric Vehicles (SAEVs). These vehicles have proven impractical and expensive, providing nothing more than small incremental gains to mileage. Ford and Toyota have had shots at products and to date, no system has managed to gain traction. With the coming of low cost-efficient solar cells alongside the transformation of... Read More »

Technological Innovation in Aquaculture

Chris Sworder
Posted on by Chris Sworder
We need more seafood to meet demand for protein. It took over a generation to industrialize livestock processes, and the environmental and social consequences of that development are being brought into sharp focus. The aquaculture industry is much further back on that curve, with environmental concerns beginning to come to light. Whether it is ecologically damaging aquaculture practices in Southeast Asia or the environmental consequences of large fish escapes or managing problems like sea lice, many factors are driving innovation in... Read More »

Autonomous Datasets and V2X Transactions: Blockchain in Mobility Pilots Getting Traction

Jules Besnainou
Posted on by Jules Besnainou
With connected, electric, autonomous and shared mobility on the way, systems that can handle increasingly complex data and transactions have to be built. In the last couple of years, automakers and blockchain companies alike have been exploring ways to apply distributed ledger technology to the mobility space and tackle some of these challenges. Ahead of our executive summit on Blockchain in Energy & Mobility taking place in New York on October 24th, we talked to some of the major market... Read More »

European Utilities Support UN Development Goals

Louis Brasington
Posted on by Louis Brasington
Last month, the United National delegates came together in New York, assessing the progress for their Sustainable Development Goals. The focus this year was on how nations can provide access to affordable and reliable energy, water, and safe and resilient cities. The meeting marked three years since the UN committed to reaching universal access to affordable and clean energy by 2030. Large energy corporates have been actively involved in the push across the globe, deploying decentralized energy systems through partnering... Read More »