Alternatives to industrial climate solutions

𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐞 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐎𝐰𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬? 🌳🤖 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘐-𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴: 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔, 𝒘𝒆𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔? 💡 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 (𝐍𝐁𝐒): These are strategies that work with nature to solve environmental challenges. Think of restoring forests, protecting coral reefs, or regenerating wetlands. Now, imagine combining these age-old solutions with the latest tech to multiply their impact. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 1. Drones for Reforestation: Drones equipped with seed-planting tech can reforest areas 10 times faster than humans, planting up to 100,000 trees a day. 2. AI for Ecosystem Health Monitoring: Machine learning algorithms analyze satellite images to track forest health, monitor biodiversity, and detect illegal logging in real-time. 3. Data-Driven Coastal Protection: Sensors and data platforms help protect and restore mangroves, which act as natural storm barriers and carbon sinks. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Nature is one of our most effective carbon capture systems. Mangroves, for instance, can store up to four times more carbon than rainforests. But we’re losing them at an alarming rate. By using tech to restore and protect these ecosystems, we not only capture more carbon but also protect biodiversity and improve community resilience. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥-𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐚𝐲: 🔹 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭: A Canadian startup using drone technology to plant trees and combat deforestation at scale. 🔹 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐈 𝐇𝐮𝐛: Utilizing AI to monitor endangered species and protect ecosystems. 🔹 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐜𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐩: Combining advanced tech with natural ocean currents to remove plastic waste from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲: It’s time to think beyond traditional climate tech and embrace solutions that work with, not against, nature. Imagine a future where tech helps us regenerate the planet, one forest, one coral reef, one wetland at a time. What are your thoughts on Nature-Based Solutions combined with technology? Do you believe this is the way forward for climate action? Let’s discuss and explore these ideas together! 🌱✨ #NatureBasedSolutions #ClimateTech #Sustainability #Reforestation #AI #ClimateAction #TechForGood #RegenerativeFuture #Biodiversity

We talk about the clean energy transition a lot in the sustainability world, but there’s another major category emerging. It's called the bioeconomy. What may have started with corn-based ethanol has now become an expansive growth area. Bio-based solutions can replace plastic, petrochemicals, industrial feedstocks, and even animal-based inputs using sustainable, biologically-derived alternatives. The implications and impact are massive. Here’s a small snapshot of what the bioeconomy looks like today: In materials: Startups like Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc. and Checkerspot use synthetic biology to program microbes to produce high-performance materials used across the value chain. What was once the domain of petroleum is now the product of fermentation. ▶️ Ginkgo Bioworks – https://www.ginkgo.bio/ ▶️ Checkerspot Performance Materials – https://lnkd.in/em-6ECJb In fashion: Companies like Spiber Inc. and Bolt Threads are engineering silk-like fibers from bio-based inputs, creating biodegradable alternatives to synthetic fabrics. Major fashion brands are already piloting these materials. ▶️ Spiber — https://lnkd.in/empf-yyW ▶️ Bolt Threads - https://lnkd.in/eC2bSeXH In packaging & foodservice: The rise of companies like Notpla and Ecovative shows how seaweed and mushrooms can replace plastic in food containers, shipping insulation, and packaging. Unlike bioplastics, these are truly regenerative, breaking down in nature like organic matter...because that’s what they are. ▶️ Notpla Packaging Solutions – https://www.notpla.com/ ▶️ Ecovative Mushroom Packaging – https://ecovative.com/ In construction: Firms like Made of Air are turning forest and agricultural waste into carbon-negative materials used in furniture, building facades, and even sunglasses. ▶️ Made of Air – https://lnkd.in/eCW349_E In big corporations: The bioeconomy is beginning to deliver on the promise of sustainable innovation: building better, cleaner inputs that outperform legacy materials and unlock new capabilities. Major corporations, from Unilever to L'Oréal to Ford Motor Company, are embedding these bio-based solutions into product design, procurement, and brand strategy. ▶️ Unilever’s Clean Future Program – https://lnkd.in/eEzavigX ▶️ L’Oréal & Green Sciences – https://lnkd.in/e-7fbr2e ▶️ Ford using Agave in Interiors – https://lnkd.in/evmkKgwu There are countless startups to major corporates working in the bioeconomy throughout almost every industry. Not all will succeed, but the amount of momentum and brilliant scientific minds applied to these opportunities is incredible. It's increasingly clear that the value chain of tomorrow should be designed to decay, evolve, and replenish.

There is a problem with #carbon tunnel vision when it comes to impact investment in the food and agriculture sector. The situation is exacerbated when it comes to livestock sector. Most tech solutions focus on reducing the #GHG emissions from the intensive livestock sector - feed additives to reduce #methane emissions, cell-based protein, plant based proteins, but in doing so they enable status quo in an industry that should change at its core. These solutions also overlook broader environmental factors such as #soil health, #biodiversity and #water cycles that grazing animals contribute to. Agroforestry systems, mixing livestock with perennial trees systems also reduce or eliminate entirely the need for emission-heavy and biodiversity destroying synthetic farm inputs. Earlier this year FAIRR Initiative published a detailed report on the climate change mitigation potential of nature-based interventions in the livestock sector. The report used #planetaryboundaries to assess the impact of nature-based solutions vs purely tech solutions and found that nature-based interventions positively impact an average of around five planetary boundaries, compared to just three for tech-based interventions. They also have the potential to deliver 37% of the mitigation needed to meet 2030 climate targets, along with significant nature co-benefits. It also showed that investments in nature based solutions are still lagging behind those in purely tech solutions. Currently, most of the nature based solutions are primarily liked to carbon credits which is not the main or only outcome. This single-issue approach is not helping to make the industrial livestock sector more sustainable. Perhaps that is why more US-style mega farms have opened in Europe. Currently there are 24,000 of intensive mega livestock farms here as reported in a recent article by The Guardian. All these farms will source most of the corn and soybean from intensive mono-culture farms in Brazil and the US for feed. How is this sustainable? Regulations have to change to prevent mega farms from operating. But in parallel more investment in a true nature-based regenerative approach is needed. And technology will very much be needed as a tool to implement this at scale (would love to have virtual fencing technology for sheep right now!).

Can we use thermochemical energy storage to replace natural gas for industrial heat and power? With the growing adoption of solar and wind energy, efficient and scalable energy storage solutions are needed especially for industrial decarbonization. An emerging startup, RedoxBlox, is tackling this challenge through an innovative thermochemical energy storage system. Thermochemical energy storage involves storing energy in the form of heat by using reversible chemical reactions. Redoxblox leverages a reversible chemical reaction between magnesium manganese oxide (MgMnO3) and oxygen to store electricity as heat, which can later be converted back to heat and electricity on demand. This allows for large-scale storage of renewable energy and its conversion to reliable power or usable high-temperature heat. Their energy storage material, made from abundant low-cost resources, demonstrates high performance. It provides high energy density, stability over thousands of cycles, and safe operation at temperatures exceeding 1500°C. The roundtrip efficiencies stand at 55% for electricity storage and 95% for industrial heat applications. It can directly compete with natural gas in certain applications due to its inexpensive thermal energy storage. The system also integrates well with existing infrastructure. Redoxblox has attracted strong partners and government funding to commercialize this technology. They have recently been awarded a total of $25 million in funding from California Energy Commission, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and Khosla Ventures to support demonstrations of the technology. Redoxblox's innovative thermochemical approach may provide the storage breakthrough needed to decarbonize industrial heat and power. What are your thoughts on thermochemical storage for renewable energy? What are the challenges with their approach? Let me know in the comments! --- I research and simplify climate change, energy, and decarbonization topics. If you find these insights valuable and informative, follow me, Lalit Patidar, for more content like this. Source: RedoxBlox #climatechange #decarbonization #renewables #energystorage #heat #power #industry