A platform connects US tech startups with remote developers in Latin America
CategoriesSustainable News

A platform connects US tech startups with remote developers in Latin America

Spotted: Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working infrastructure has improved dramatically, while remote working practices have become culturally embedded within many organisations. Highly digitised industries saw the biggest adoption of remote working, with the OECD estimating that, on average, more than  50 per cent of high-tech workers worked from home during the pandemic. Indeed, Apple employees have become so used to remote working that a group of them have publicly pushed back against calls from top management to return to the office.

But what impact will increased acceptance of remote working have on the job market for tech? One possibility is that it will encourage more companies to outsource tasks to freelance developers in lower cost countries. But for Philadelphia-based startup Teilur, ‘outsourcing’ is a dirty word associated with short-term transactional relationships. Instead, the talent platform is focused on helping US tech startups build meaningful, long-term relationships with Latin American developers who share their mission and values.

What does this mean in practice? At the heart of Teilur’s platform is a network of over 400 pre-vetted growth marketers, data professionals, and software developers. US tech companies can dip into this pool of talent to find their next valued team member. Teilur then takes care of cumbersome administrative tasks such as international contract compliance and payroll. Crucially, for US firms, Latin America can provide workers who operate in the same timezone as their US-based counterparts, making collaboration easier. And to incentivise long-term relationships, candidates on the Teilur platform get paid salaries two to three times higher than what the big tech companies offer locally.

Teilur argues that its platform benefits both startups and developers. It claims that companies can save up to 60 per cent in salaries, while candidates receive better pay than is available elsewhere in their local market. Teilur is also committed to pricing transparency with a promise to never charge more than 25 per cent of what the hiring company pays for a candidate – a competitive rate in a market where agencies routinely charge up to 50 per cent. Teilur also pledges to only charge companies if they actually hire a candidate.

With a global talent gap looming on the horizon, Springwise is spotting a number of talent tech innovations such as a language-learning app that connects candidates from marginalised groups with employers in the digital economy, and an AI-powered training platform that predicts future skills gaps.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Website: teilur.com

Reference

Five innovations tackling wildfires – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Five innovations tackling wildfires – Springwise

Wildfires have long been a persistent threat in certain parts of the world. But until recently, most people would associate them with regions such as California and Australia. In 2022, however, the news cycle has been filled with stories of wildfires in parts of the world that are less used to dealing with them. In the EU, forest fires have burned a record 700,000 hectares, with Spain, Romania, France, and Italy the countries most affected. In fact, 2022 is already a record year for wildfires in Southwestern Europe. Meanwhile, in China, emergency responders are battling blazes around the city of Chongqing.

Studies are linking increasing levels of fire risk in Europe with climate change. And ‘traditional’ fire regions are also facing more intense fire seasons. The worst recorded fire season in the recorded history of New South Wales, Australia, was in 2019/2020, and California’s worst fire season was also in 2020

With climate change exacerbating wildfires across the globe, innovators are developing solutions to mitigate their impact. Here are five of the best.

Photo source Segev

ROBOT FOREST RANGERS PLANT TREES, CLEAR PATHS AND GATHER DATA

Rikko, Chunk, and Dixon are three ‘Forest Ranger Druids’ created by industrial design student Segev Kaspi. Currently in the concept stage, each of the robots has a specific set of tasks and skills. The idea is to deploy teams of the robot forest rangers across many kilometres of forest, for regular maintenance as well as in emergency situations. Finding the source of a new forest fire, for example, could help firefighters act faster to contain a dangerous situation. Read more

Photo source SAS

THE WORLD’S LARGEST REAL-TIME MONITORING NETWORK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS

Australian technology firm Attentis has developed a network of intelligent sensors that provide local officials and emergency response teams with data that can be used to improve responses to climate change impacts – such as floods and bushfires. The sensors are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning from analytics company SAS, and are capable of automatically detecting and responding to changes in their surroundings. Attentis has used the sensors to create an integrated, high-speed network. Named the Latrobe Valley Information Network (LVIN), it is the world’s largest real-time environmental monitoring network. Read more

Photo source Petra

NEW DRILLING MACHINE QUICKLY AND ECONOMICALLY CUTS THROUGH THE HARDEST ROCKS IN THE WORLD

San Francisco-based company Petra has successfully completed a 20-foot demonstration tunnel through the Earth’s hardest rock. The company’s semi-autonomous drilling machine, named Swifty, is able to cut through hard bedrock that would destroy normal drilling equipment. Swifty was designed to make underground utility lines more economically viable given that above-ground power lines have contributed to a succession of Californian wildfires. Read more

Photo source California Forest Observatory

AI MAPPING TOOL HELPS CALIFORNIA FIREFIGHTERS TRACK BURN RISK

More than three million acres of land burned in California during the 2020 fire season. As climate change continues to have an impact on the natural ebb and flow of the area’s fires, The California Forest Observatory is using AI satellite imaging combined with detailed laser scanning to monitor the current risk of forest wildfires. Previously, most satellite data was up to three years old. The combined data provides detail down to the level of individual trees and allows firefighting teams to observe vegetation growth while tracking current weather conditions. Read more

Photo source Parallel Flight Technologies

HYBRID DRONE FOR CARRYING FIRE-FIGHTING EQUIPMENT

Fighting wildfires usually involves the use of heavy equipment and dangerous flights. Drones could be the answer Most electric drones currently in use can only fly for around fifteen minutes when carrying payloads, while gas-powered drones can fly for longer, but can’t carry heavy cargo. Parallel Flight Technologies is hoping to change this by developing commercial drones capable of carrying equipment heavy enough to help firefighters. Read more

Curated by: Matthew Hempstead

To keep up with the latest sustainable innovations, sign up to our free newsletters or email info@springwise.com to get in touch.

Reference

Call for Entries: Submit Your Projects for the 2022 Best of LaCantina Competition!
CategoriesArchitecture

Call for Entries: Submit Your Projects for the 2022 Best of LaCantina Competition!

It’s time to celebrate the most beautiful glazed projects around the globe! Architizer is proud to announce the 5th Annual Best of LaCantina competition in partnership with LaCantina Doors, the nation’s leading design and manufacturing company of folding, sliding and swing door systems. Through the Best of LaCantina contest, architects are invited to showcase built architectural projects that use LaCantina’s innovative products for a chance to win a grand prize and receive major coverage on Architizer.

The competition is free to enter, and the only requirement is that your project was completed in the last four years and includes one or more LaCantina products. To begin your submission, hit the blue button below:

Enter the Competition

If you have ever specified one of LaCantina Doors’ many systems, you will know that their quality and level of detailing is unparalleled, enabling the creation of beautiful, open spaces that blur the line between indoor and outdoor living. LaCantina’s sliding, folding and swing doors all seamlessly integrate sophisticated design with high functionality, harnessing the same signature narrow stile and rail profile across its product line for a complete and perfectly matching door package.

Projects that incorporate any combination of these products are eligible for the competition, which is designed to showcase how LaCantina Doors can be utilized to produce stunning contemporary architecture across all typologies.

A selection of former winners of the Best of LaCantina Competition; images courtesy of the architects / LaCantina

Best of LaCantina Award Categories

This year, there are a total of eight categories in which architects and designers can get their products recognized. They are as follows:

  • Best in Show
  • Best Commercial
  • Best Rural Residential
  • Best Urban Residential
  • Best Suburban Residential
  • Best Compact
  • Best Renovation
  • Most Innovative

All projects submitted for these categories should be built, and projects can be entered for multiple categories in which they are eligible. For example, you may submit a project within one of the typology-based categories (residential, commercial, rural etc.) and for an additional category such as Best Renovation, Most Innovative etc.

Submit a Project

Grand Prize for “Best in Show”

The winning design named “Best in Show” will receive a Grand Prize Trip for two (2) to the 2023 AIA Conference on Architecture (A’23) in San Francisco, June 8-9, 2023.  The “Best in Show” winner will also receive:

  • An article and promotion on Architizer.com
  • Publicity across Architizer’s social media network of 4,000,000+ fans.
  • A Featured Project write up on LaCantinaDoors.com
  • Inclusion in LaCantina Doors marketing efforts including, but not limited to
    • Emails
    • Social Media
    • Digital Display Ads
    • Brochures
    • Print Ads
  • Opportunity to be part of the judges panel for the Best of LaCantina 2023 entries
  • Inclusion in Best of LaCantina 2023 contest promotions

Nathan Fell Architecture’s Bienville House won the “Best in Show” in the 2020 Best of LaCantina Competition; image courtesy of the architects / LaCantina

Every submission in this year’s competition will be carefully reviewed by industry experts spanning architecture, product design and media. Guest jurors will include Raili Clasen of RailiCA Interior Design, Paul Keskeys of Architizer, Brendan and Jillian Bader of Modern Nest Homes, and Best of LaCantina 2020 winner Nathan Fell of Nathan Fell Architecture, who will assist in selecting the winners.

If you have designed a built project in the past four years that features LaCantina Doors’ products, this is a fantastic opportunity for you to showcase your expertise — and potentially win big in the process! Head to the competition site for more information, and start your entry today:

Enter Now

Reference

Biohacking against fungal attack – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Biohacking against fungal attack – Springwise

Spotted: Fungi are a type of organism that can cause enormous agricultural losses. And many plants weakened by climate stress are more susceptible to fungal infection. Conventional techniques for treatment and prevention involve toxic fungicides, which can have a detrimental effect on the environment and human health. As a result, there is an urgent need for alternative methods of control. One promising approach has been provided by researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The approach involves an environmentally safe alternative that tricks the pathogens’ chemical communication with plants. The goal is to biologically ‘hack’ the process – disrupting the pathogen’s ability to infect the plant and cause disease.

The aim of the project is to develop a new generation of highly specific and effective crop protection products based on reactivating plants’ immune responses. This could help to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides and increase the sustainability of agriculture. In addition, these new methods provide an effective way to combat harmful fungi without causing harm to the environment.

During the study, researchers found that fungi detect specific stress signals from plants and then use their own signal substances to suppress the plants immune system.. The team then identified molecules that could be used to reactivate the immune response, allowing the plant to fight off the infection. To develop the method, about 20,000 fungus strains and 6,000 plant species were used.

The project featured an interdisciplinary research network of botanists, fungal genetic scientists, microsystem technologists, chemists, and professionals in agricultural science. Additional participants included the Universities of Freiburg, Strasbourg, the Institute of Biotechnology and Drug Research (IBFW), and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in Switzerland. Funding was provided by the “Interreg Oberrhein” cross-border EU program.

Other innovations spotted by Springwise that combat the negative effects of fungi include non-toxic emulsions and smart wrapping papers capable of killing E.Coli and various fungus species.  

Written By: Katrina Lane

Email: kirsten.hennrich@kit.edu

Website: .klima-umwelt.kit.edu/english

Reference

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Station // Bordas+Peiro Architecte
CategoriesSustainable News

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Station // Bordas+Peiro Architecte

Text description provided by the architects.

The future Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne station is part of the European train line connecting Lyon to Turin. It will be one of the link of this new connection which will be at the center of the north-south and east-west axes of Europe. The site of this future station take place in a strong duality between the very present mountains and the rail infrastructure.

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

The project is articulated in an « in-between » and follows this subtle dichotomy in its conception._Morphology and shapeThe proposal is built like a rocky extraction, a sculpted volume to give it a dynamic and formal link with the landscape and his context.This mass is percied in a relevant way, creating framing on the landscape and offering natural light in spaces of great heights.Posed on a transparent based, the volume maintains a strong link between the interior and the exterior of the station.

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

A tension is generated between the lightness of the base and the massiveness of its upper part pierced by the train._General accessibility, readable streams, clear thresholdsThe multi-oriented station is designed with several levels of forecourt which allow to identify the uses. A high forecourt to the south in connection with the city center, a lower forecourt for the train and bus station.

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

This public space is open to everyone, a connection forecourt, passage and waiting, which creates a direct link between two parts of the city._Ecological transitionThe prismatic volume is built like a rock from a local, ecological and noble material : the rammed earth with a dark color. A natural and biobased material from the nearby mountains.

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

Its atypical form orients part of the roof that can absorb natural light to create energy. A passenger building for the city, economical in surface area, material and energy..

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

© Bordas+Peiro Architecte

Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne Station Gallery

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Live Talk: Seven Pillars of Highly Successful Architecture Firms
CategoriesArchitecture

Live Talk: Seven Pillars of Highly Successful Architecture Firms

Want to learn the secrets to success for your architecture firm? If so, our next live event — the third episode in our architecture practice management series — is one not to be missed! Steve Burns FAIA, Chief Creative Officer at BQE, will reveal the ingredients of a well-run architectural business, including pearls of wisdom that will prove valuable for new and seasoned professionals alike.

As a bonus, architects can earn 1 AIA LU Credit for attending this talk, courtesy of BQE. Join us live on August 31st at 1:00pm ET — hit the blue button to register for free:

Register for the Event →

Culled from experiences working with more than 3,000 architecture and engineering firms over 25 years, this session will examine the seven common denominators of every successful firm. Success comes in many flavors. For some, it’s money; for others, it is peer recognition, awards, or fame; for most of us, it’s having access to challenging or exciting projects.

Regardless of how you measure success, adopting these Seven Pillars will help you create the framework from which you and every member of your firm can achieve their professional goals.

Learning Objectives

In this webinar, you’ll learn how to:

  • Apply your AE talents to your business and turn your firm into the most exciting project of your career.
  • Integrate your people, processes, and tools to create the perfect triangle
  • Create and manifest your business and strategic plan
  • List the three essential qualities which turn individuals into leaders

About Steve

Steven Burns is a member of the College of Fellows of the AIA and Chief Creative Officer of BQE Software. After receiving his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Steve spent 7 years at SOM – working in Chicago, London, and Berlin before founding his own firm, BBA Architects in 1993. In 2007, Steve sold BBA to pursue his passion for business management software — starting with his creation of ArchiOffice. Steve is now focused on the product development of BQE CORE ARCHITECT, a fully-integrated, cloud-based firm management platform that includes time billing, invoicing, accounting, and project management for firms of all sizes. Steven is a global speaker and thought leader on topics related to firm management and emerging technologies.

About Paul

Paul Keskeys is Editor in Chief at Architizer. Paul graduated from UCL and the University of Edinburgh, gaining an MArch in Architectural Design with distinction. Paul has spoken about the art of architecture and storytelling at many national industry events, including AIANY, NeoCon, KBIS, the Future NOW Symposium, the Young Architect Conference and NYCxDesign. As well as hundreds of editorial publications on Architizer, Paul has also had features published in Architectural Digest, PIN—UP Magazine, Archinect, Aesthetica Magazine and PUBLIC Journal.

Register for the Event →

Reference

Strengthening cement with shrimp shells
CategoriesSustainable News

Strengthening cement with shrimp shells

Spotted: As the world industrialised, cement became the glue that held civilisation together. It was used to build the homes we live in, the roads we travel on, and the bridges that connect us. However, cement production is carbon intensive and is responsible for approximately 8 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. As nations continue to urbanise and industrialise, the demand for cement is only expected to grow. As part of the effort to find a way to meet this demand while reducing the strain on the environment, researchers at Washington State University and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have added nanoparticles from shrimp shells to cement.

The research, which was published in the journal of Cement and Concrete Composites, describes the process of putting nanoparticles extracted from the shells of shrimp waste into cement paste. The result is a material that is significantly stronger than traditional cement. By increasing the strength of cement, it is possible to reduce the amount needed. Less cement needed means less made, and thus fewer carbon emissions.

The shells of crustacean arthropods are made up of 20 to 30 per cent chitin. Chitin nanocrystals are what allowed the research team to change some of cement’s properties, such as its consistency, setting time, strength, and durability. The researchers reported an increase of 40 per cent in strength and a 12 per cent increase in resilience to compression.

Next up, the researchers are hoping to scale up their work.

Springwise has spotted a number of innovations aiming to decarbonise the cement industry. These include a research team at the University of Colorado Boulder who have created a cement made using microalgae. Springwise has also spotted cement made from fruit and vegetable scraps, and a vaulted floor design that minimises the cement used.  

Written By: Katrina Lane

Email: wolcott@wsu.edu

Website: wsu.edu

Reference

The Future of Materials: Terracotta Rain Screens and Cladding
CategoriesArchitecture

The Future of Materials: Terracotta Rain Screens and Cladding

How can architecture be a force for good in our ever-changing world? During Future Fest, we’ll pose this question to some of the world’s best architects. Launching in September, our three-week-long virtual event will be 100% free to attend. Register here!

Terracotta is a material that spans millennia. Durable as it is beautiful, terracotta has a range of inherent building properties that makes it an ideal choice for construction. In contemporary architecture and design, terracotta is specified as a way to redefine building envelopes with both rain screens and cladding. With a range of colors, textures, and forms, this ceramic is a material used throughout history. Now we’re inviting experts in materials, architecture, and interiors to discuss the Future of Materials for an entire week this September. The virtual event, Future Fest, will be 100% free to attend.

Register for Future Fest

Dating back to the Babylonians, terracotta continues to be a material selected for diverse building types around the world. It’s also redefining the future of how we design. By definition, architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in non-structural and structural capacities on the exterior or interior of a building. Each of the following projects reinterprets terracotta and its application in diverse building types.


Pope John Paul II Hall

By Randić and Associates, Rijeka, Croati

Sited in one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Croatia, this Great Hall was designed alongside the Pope’s visit to Rijeka. Housing cultural activities of the monastery, the project also creates a new major entrance for the pilgrims and a large public walk. A pixel-ized terracotta volume was designed to filter light inside the structure while a columned portico forms a new public square outside.

The building features a single terracotta-brick surface. By varying the gaps between the terracotta bricks, the pixelated structure brings light into the hall. Architectural terracotta is slightly different from normal bricks, they are plain or ornamental with a glazed coating and larger in size than brick. The color goes compliments existing construction at the monastery and imitates a simple hip-roofed barn.


The Wellin Museum of Art

By Machado Silvetti, Clinton, NY, United States

TerraClad façade by Boston Valley Terra Cotta

Located on the Hamilton College campus, the Wellin Museum of art was designed as part of a new arts quad. The building includes admin offices, seminar rooms, galleries, and a monumental two-story glass archive hall. Dark terracotta cladding was used along the central volume to reinforce its role programmatically and organizationally.

The TerraClad façade product made by Boston Valley was forming using an extrusion method. The enclosure combines both terracotta and precast cladding with curtain wall fenestration. The system was chosen to ensure that the thermal performance of the exterior enclosure would contribute to the building’s success and meet the College’s sustainability goals.


The Diana Center at Barnard College

By WEISS / MANFREDI, New York, NY, United States

Terracotta Frit Panel by Goldray Industries

Located at Barnard College, the Diana Center includes a gallery space, a library, classrooms, dining, and a black box theater. A slipped atria links spaces vertically and becomes connected through ascending stairs. Luminous terracotta glass panels were used throughout the building envelope. Surrounded by a campus defined by brick and terracotta, the Diana translates the static opacity of masonry into a luminous curtain wall.

The building’s color is created by a pale terracotta-colored frit on the #2 surface and the bright red painted back panel beneath. The glass panel, provided by Goldray Industries, is acid-etched on its exterior surface to give a matte texture, and the terracotta frit is on the interior surface.


Mercy Corps Global Headquarters

By Hacker, Portland, OR, United States

LONGOTON Terracotta Rainscreen Panels by Shildan

The Mercy Corps building was built to exemplify a sustainable, community-focused approach while encouraging visitors to engage with contemporary issues. Doubling the size of the historic Portland Packer-Scott Building, the landmark project combined a green roof, with resource-friendly landscaping and a glass and terracotta envelope.

Certified LEED Platinum, the project uses Shildan/Moeding LONGOTON® terracotta with extruded, double leaf, 40mm panels. The panel has increased strength from a chain of internal I-beam supports. The panels were chosen because of their flexibility in being able to be incorporated in both horizontal and vertical support systems, as well as a flexible orientation in layout.


School of Art & Design at New York State College of Ceramics

By Ikon.5 Architects, Alfred, NY, United States

Terracotta panels by Boston Valley Terra Cotta

The terracotta tube façade for this ceramics pavilion screens both rain and solar heat, while its staggered pattern was inspired by pottery racks. The Art Pavilion was created as a “ceramic vessel” holding both light and art. The design was inspired by the region’s history of manufacturing ceramics, and incorporates the unglazed, hollow tubes with an off-white pigment.

Boston Valley’s terracotta façade system recalls the interior program while defining a material and haptic boundary. South-facing galleries are protected from direct sunlight, while the pavilion dramatically engages campus on-lookers as a piece of ceramic art. It allows passerby to see inside the exhibition gallery and places student work on public display.


The Center for Asian Art at the Ringling Museum of Art

By Machado Silvetti, Sarasota, FL, United States

Terracotta panels by Boston Valley Terra Cotta

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art features both a permanent collection and temporary exhibition galleries on a historic sixty-six acre estate. Believed to be originally envisioned as one of the most comprehensive art museums in the world, the Museum was ahead of its time in assembling a significant collection of Asian Art. Now governed by Florida State University, the Museum establishes the Ringling Estate as one of the largest museum-university complexes in the United States.

The Asian Art Study Center is an addition and ‘gut renovation’ and to the West Wing galleries on the southwest corner of the Museum complex. The addition’s façade is composed of deep-green, glazed terra cotta tiles that address the client’s requirement of a new monumental entrance. Machado Silvetti collaborated closely with Boston Valley Terra Cotta to develop the color, form and installation technique for the panels.

How can architecture be a force for good in our ever-changing world? During Future Fest, we’ll pose this question to some of the world’s best architects. Launching in September, our three-week-long virtual event will be 100% free to attend. Register here!

Reference

A thermal energy storage system reduces energy costs and emissions
CategoriesSustainable News

A thermal energy storage system reduces energy costs and emissions

Spotted: Today, significant energy is spent on keeping buildings warm or cool. In fact, nearly half of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings are the result of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). Buildings, in turn, account for 39 per cent of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions. In response, buildings are increasingly fitted with thermal energy storage systems that smooth and optimise heating and cooling throughout the day. Traditionally, these systems work by changing the temperature of water in huge tanks that are expensive and inefficient. This could be set to change, however.  

Instead of water, the HeatTank system developed by Hungarian startup HeatVentors, uses phase changing materials—substances that absorb and release heat energy when they solidify or melt—to store the heating or cooling energy from a building’s HVAC system. If the system is being used for heating, excess heat is stored, melting the phase changing materials (PCM). When the heat energy is needed later on, it is discharged and the PCM solidifies. The process is exactly reversed if the system is being used for cooling. Cold air solidifies the PCM, with the cooling energy later discharged when the PCM melts. The temperature range for solidifying and melting the PCM is much narrower than for water – 20 degrees Celsius for solidifying, and 40 degrees Celsius for melting.

By storing energy when it is most abundant and releasing it at more expensive times, the HeatTank system helps organisations reduce their carbon emissions while also saving money on energy costs. In essence, the system allows organisations to bypass the most expensive times of day or night for buying or producing energy. In addition, by more steadily regulating interior temperatures, the technology reduces the overall amount of energy an organisation consumes.

Rectangular in shape, the storage unit is 90 per cent smaller than current, water-based versions, making it suitable even for relatively small buildings. What is more, the system is 20-40 per cent more efficient than others on the market.

The company currently focuses on data centres, district heating and cooling networks, commercial buildings, and gas engines, all of which rely heavily on HVAC throughout much of the year. For data centres, a gap of cooling power for even five minutes can result in significant damage, something HeatTanks can help to prevent by providing immediate backup energy in case of emergency.

Energy storage remains one of the most significant challenges in transitioning entire economies to renewable energies. Innovators are seeking myriad solutions, from reusing old EV batteries for energy storage units to using captured CO2 for long-term energy storage. 

Written by: Keely Khoury

Email: hello@heatventors.com

Website: heatventors.com

Reference

Global innovation spotlight: Hungary – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Global innovation spotlight: Hungary – Springwise

Global innovation spotlight: Hungary

Global Innovation Spotlight

Reflecting our global Springwise readership, we explore the innovation landscape and freshest thinking from a new country each week. Ahead of St. Stephen’s Day, we are celebrating three exciting innovations from Hungary…

Hungary Innovation Facts

Global Innovation Index ranking: 34th

Climate targets: A 40 per cent reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030 , achieve climate neutrality by 2050

Sustainability issues

Air pollution – Hungary has among the highest levels of particulate matter air pollution in the OECD. In 2021, the EU’s top court found that Hungary has systematically breached EU limits on particulate matter pollution, for as long as 12 years in some regions. And the European Environment Agency attributed 13,100 premature deaths in Hungary to air pollution in 2018.

Water pollution – Hungary is home to Lake Balaton – the largest lake in Central Europe. It is an important site for migratory birds and has become a major tourist destination in recent years. However, one academic believes might become unfit for bathing in 10-15 years due to deteriorating water quality. Although, today, the waters are relatively clean, the most polluted parts of the lake are prone to frequent algal blooms. 

Energy security – Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian natural gas imports. It is therefore vulnerable to price hikes and dislocations caused by the current conflict in Ukraine. In response, the government has loosened restrictions on logging in order to meet surging demand for firewood, sparking protests in the nation’s capital.

Sector specialisms

Education

Foodtech

Transportation

Source: StartupBlink

Three exciting innovations from Hungary

Photo source Canva

INDOOR COMPOSTING ROBOT REDUCES URBAN FOOD WASTE

Many towns, villages, and cities don’t have the infrastructure in place to manage a community-wide composting system. Food therefore continues to end up in landfill, especially in areas where room for gardening is scarce. Hungarian startup Compocity’s solution is to bring composting indoors with a smart system called the CompoBot. Read more

Photo source HeatVentors

A THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM REDUCES ENERGY COSTS AND EMISSIONS

Nearly half of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with buildings are the result of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC). Buildings, in turn, account for 39 per cent of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions. In response, buildings are increasingly fitted with thermal energy storage systems that smooth and optimise heating and cooling throughout the day. Traditionally, these systems work by changing the temperature of water in huge tanks that are expensive and inefficient. This could be set to change, however. Read more

Photo source Canva

RE-PURPOSING NATURAL GAS PIPELINES TO TRANSPORT HYDROGEN

Natural gas will be phased out of the energy mix as the world transitions to renewable energy. But what is to be done with all the gas infrastructure once this happens? At the same time, hydrogen, one of the most promising clean fuels for the future, currently lacks infrastructure for storage or transportation. This raises an intriguing possibility – what if existing natural gas infrastructure was used to transport hydrogen? Hungary’s natural gas network operator FGSZ, is exploring this option with risk and assurance company DNV Group. Read more

Words: Matthew Hempstead

To keep up with the latest innovations, sign up to our free newsletters or email info@springwise.com to get in touch.

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