EV Charging: Software and Grid Services

Posted on July 15, 2019July 16, 2019 by Cassidy Shell

Vehicle-to-grid, or V2G, is becoming a buzzword in the electric vehicle (EV) charging industry with 50 V2G projects around the world trying to figure out how to make it work for all participants - EV owners, utilities, auto OEMs and EV charging developers. V2G technology involves communication between EV chargers and the power grid to delay charging and/or dispatch stored electricity back to the grid, providing demand response and frequency regulation services. This effectively turns EV batteries into an energy... Read More »

Next Generation Solar – Sector Watch 12 July 2019

Posted on July 10, 2019July 11, 2019 by Louis Brasington

AttractivenessOver the last 25 years, crystalline silicon photovoltaics have become the world’s fastest growing energy source. The last cleantech boom saw a few competing technologies such as thin-film solar try and fail to compete with the mainstream offerings. However, today's advances in technology, smart business models and progressive funding solutions are creating new opportunities for a small number of perovskite and dye-sensitized thin-film photovoltaic innovators. While previously seen as a direct competitor, next generation solar innovators are finding niches within... Read More »

Forbes Agtech Event – A view on the Future of Food from Main Street Salinas

Posted on July 10, 2019July 11, 2019 by Chris Sworder

Recently, I attended Forbes Agtech Event in Salinas and joined over 500 entrepreneurs, investors, farmers, and others to take a look at the next wave of agtech innovation. There were several underlying trends that stood out for me after I spoke to entrepreneurs to learn more about innovation in automation, food safety, supply chain complexity, and of course … water. Last but not least were solutions enhancing nature’s most efficient pollinators: bees.Automation Even with 90% of large farm machinery having... Read More »

Urban Air Mobility – Sector Watch 28 June 2019

Posted on June 27, 2019July 8, 2019 by Cassidy Shell

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is the movement of air passengers and cargo in an urban space using, mostly electric, Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). This sector of mobility currently has 70+ manufacturers, including Boeing, Airbus and Bell Helicopters, as well as other major mobility and e-commerce players, including Uber and Amazon. Attractiveness The interest in this sector lies in its ability to reduce travel and delivery times, reduce transport costs (particularly in the transportation... Read More »

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems, the Next Building Load to Optimize

Posted on June 26, 2019July 8, 2019 by Louis Brasington

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are a building's main energy consumer, accounting for 40% of all electricity used. Measures to update and replace existing heating and cooling systems could improve the energy efficiency of these systems by around 43%. Unfortunately, the cost and payback on energy savings from hardware upgrades/replacements are often not attractive enough for building owners. With the advent of low-cost IoT solutions, software is becoming an increasingly popular option to modernize monitoring and analyzing systems... Read More »

Agtech, Insect Farming and the Future of Efficiency: An Interview with Ÿnsect’s Co-Founder

Posted on June 20, 2019July 9, 2019 by Chris Sworder

Today, the main goal of insect farming is to develop a product to replace fishmeal as an ingredient in fish feed. Fishmeal currently has a global production of three to four million tons and was worth $6.3 billion in 2017. Eventually, insect farmers want to compete in the pet food ($91 billion) and even animal feed ($400 billion) markets. Business specifics Rather than building, owning and operating each insect farm, a licencing model is possible. Insect farming is highly automated... Read More »

Food Delivery Services: the Challenges of Getting Food to your Front Door

Posted on June 14, 2019June 19, 2019 by Chris Sworder

Direct to consumer (D2C) delivery models have disrupted consumer product industries from books and electronics to retail stores, web services and increasingly food. Online sales of food and beverage growing at 19% year-on-year, making it one of the top five fastest growing online sales sectors in the US. The market size equates to $17.5 billion in 2018 and is expected to rise to $30 billion by 2021. Peapod and Ocado - online food delivery is older than Amazon There are examples of... Read More »

Standout Fundraising Achievement of the Year 2019 awarded to Agtech company

Posted on June 12, 2019June 21, 2019 by Chris Sworder

Ÿnsect, a company that breeds insects for feed and non-food applications was awarded the Fundraising Achievement of the Year 2019 for Europe and Israel. Co-Founder, Alexis Angot, was at the recent Cleantech Forum Europe in Stockholm to collect the award following the impressive $125 million Series C the company announced in February, raised from investors including Astanor Ventures, Demeter, Quadia, Talis Capital, Idinvest Partners, Credit Agricole Brie Picardie, Caisse d'Epargne, Picardie Investissement, Finasucre, Compagnie du Bois Sauvage, Happiness Capital, VisVires... Read More »

Battery Management Systems Remain Crucial in the Energy Storage Revolution

Posted on May 29, 2019May 30, 2019 by Louis Brasington

A key element in the quest for improved performance of batteries is the battery management system (BMS). BMS is the software layer that is responsible for the balancing of cells, protecting batteries from damage and sub-optimal operation. These are applicable to fixed energy storage as well as Electric Vehicle (EV) markets. Growing in parallel with the battery market, the BMS market now sits at $3.2 billion, with a CAGR of 21%, driven largely by the increased volumes of EVs and... Read More »

Decarbonizing heat at Cleantech Forum Europe 2019– A sit down with Toon Bouten of tado°

Posted on May 22, 2019May 30, 2019 by Louis Brasington

At the recent Cleantech Forum Europe in Stockholm, we explored innovative solutions to tackle the heating challenge. We looked at alternative heat de-carbonization pathways, including the digitization of heating systems, the conversion of the gas grid to low-carbon hydrogen and emerging waste heat recovery solutions. One of the experts joining us on stage was Toon Bouten, CEO of tado°. The company has raised over $100 million in venture capital funding and remains one of the leaders in European smart products and services... Read More »

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