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Decarbonize Your Hearth with an Electric Fireplace
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Decarbonize Your Hearth with an Electric Fireplace

By Zarkon Group,

Humans have a primal attraction to a crackling flame and the ambience of a cozy fireplace. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright called the hearth the “the psychological center of the home,” and designed all his residences around a central fireplace.

For the majority of humans who now live in urban areas, a traditional wood-burning fireplace is not a practical or healthy option (for reasons we explain below). This reality has made gas fireplaces popular because they pair the beauty of fire with the convenience of a switch and without the hassle of chopping wood and lighting a flame. But because elimination of gas is a fundamental tenet of decarbonized living, and we all love a cozy fire, we need alternative decarbonized hearth options. Enter the electric fireplace.

The State of American Fireplaces

First, a little context on the hearths in American homes. Many new homes in the US have a fireplace, yet the traditional wood-burning one is disappearing. New homes with fireplaces of any kind declined by almost two-thirds from 1978 to 2017, possibly because fireplaces are plagued with problems like heat loss through the chimney, indoor air pollution, and risk of fire spreading. However, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ What Home Buyers Really Want, 55% and 48% of home buyers rate gas- and wood-burning fireplaces, respectively, as desirable or essential, and this share has been increasing since 2003.

Why Fireplaces Matter

Research consistently finds that traditional wood-burning and gas stoves are bad for indoor and outdoor air quality and create serious issues for human health and the environment. Burning wood releases harmful gas and particulate matter that leads to respiratory issues for people living in the home and around it. It’s one of the biggest sources of air pollution in the county where we live. Natural gas also pollutes indoors through combustion and leaks and releases significant outdoor pollution, including NOx and carbon dioxide. Air quality districts in California are beginning to phase out any natural gas combustion in the home because the air pollution exceeds that of gas power plants. Other countries have similar issues. In the UK, for example, fireplaces and stoves are now the largest single source of primary particle pollution, greater than traffic and industry!

Fortunately there is a great way to create a clean, healthy, low-carbon ambience with the feel of old school flames: the electric fireplace is the future home hearth. Because electricity is getting dramatically cleaner every year, with the rise of renewables and the demise of coal, electric fireplaces offer a cozy vibe without any of the negative health or environmental impacts.

Until recently, fireplaces were synonymous with combustion, and the words “electricity” and “fire” were rarely paired together in a positive way. When we think of electric heat, many of us imagine the glowing red, inefficient electric resistance coils that are hardly associated with a comforting fireplace. But like so many new, clean electric home technologies, the electric fireplace has undergone rapid, and appealing, changes over the past 10 years.

Mid-closeup of electric fireplace shows no-pollution "coals and flames" - photo

Benefits of Electric Fireplaces

The electric fireplace is a radically improved, often overlooked technology that has a lot going for it:

  • Ambience: You may be surprised to know that electric fireplaces can provide a great-looking flame. Thanks to LEDs and a mirror element that rolls and reflects light, many electric flames look pretty realistic. You can enjoy them around the clock and any time of year because most models allow you to use the flame without the heat. Some models offer an option to change the color below the flame, which is our kids’ favorite party trick. Some varieties come with a material that sits in front of or below the flame to anchor it like a real fire. Since there’s not a real flame, you can use whatever material you want, including wood or stone to give it a natural look.
  • Safety: Unlike combustion fireplaces, the electric varieties have no risk from open flames or sparks that could lead to an uncontrolled fire. They are cool to the touch, making them great for homes with kids and pets. They safely operate near other appliances, including below TVs, which is a common set up.
  • Cost: Electric fireplaces are, by far, the most inexpensive type of fireplace to buy and install. The unit itself averages $1000, but you can find models as low as $200, compared to $1500 to $3500 for a gas fireplace insert. They are also much cheaper to install than gas or wood stoves, which typically run $2,000 to $10,000, because they require no outdoor venting or permitting. They simply plug into an outlet.
  • Improved Air Quality and Health: As discussed above, burning wood and gas creates significant amounts of indoor and outdoor air pollution. 
  • Carbon-Free: Of course, for us, committed to decarbonizing our lives, the number one benefit is the ability to remove natural gas from your home and run a fireplace on clean, emissions-free electricity.

Our Electric Hearth

Our 1987 ranch home didn’t have any kind of fireplace when we bought it in 2012. In 2015 we moved a pellet stove from our former house into an addition we built (we’ll cover the pros and cons of pellet stoves in a future article). In 2020, after hunkering down at home during the peak of the pandemic, we decided to invest in some home hygge and create a hearth to define our main living area, hide an unsightly electrical panel, and provide some storage. This simple, affordable project improved our home’s beauty, functionality, and carbon impact.

After much online research, we went to a local Portland electric fireplace store to check out the electric flames in person. We opted for a Dimplex because of the size (20 by 34 inches), which was the right proportion for our design, and realistic flame. We designed a hearth, mantle, and built-in cabinets and hired a local handy-person to put it all together over a long weekend when we were out of town.

The fireplace unit cost $700 and we spent close to $2500 on labor, lumber, drywall, and minor electrical work to build the hearth. This cost includes the plywood cabinets on either side.

The fireplace wonderfully defines our living room, which previously felt a bit anchorless in our open plan living area. It also provides heat, though we don’t turn on the heating element very often because it’s electric resistance, and our ductless heat pump is on the same wall. It came with unappealing plastic jewel-like rocks that sit on an interior shelf below the flame, and we replaced them with real rocks from the Oregon coast.

Options for Your Electric Hearth

While we went for the built-in model because of our other project goals, there are lots of options for standalone electric fireplaces. Our product selection was based on the dimensions that best fit our design and had the most realistic looking flame. Depending on your goals, and the configuration of your home, you may consider one of the following:

  • Wall mounted can be hung right on your wall, like a piece of art or flat-screen TV.
  • Built-ins fit into a custom structure so they are flush with the wall, like our fireplace.
  • Inserts are well suited for homes with existing wood burning fireplaces and can sit in the existing opening.
  • Standalone models allow you to plug a fireplace into any outlet and create great ambience in any room. A great option for renters.
  • Water Vapor is even an option! These can be filled manually or connected to a water line to create vapor resembling smoke.

While you can find electric fireplaces that cost thousands of dollars (typically the long narrow, built-in variety), all of the models shown here are only a few hundred.

For more on electric fireplaces, check out this fireplace guide from Modern Blaze and this Electrify Now video.

This article is part of a series by Naomi Cole and Joe Wachunas, first published in CleanTechnica. Through “Decarbonize Your Life,” they share their experience, lessons learned, and recommendations for how to reduce household emissions, building a decarbonization roadmap for individuals.

The authors:

Joe Wachunas and Naomi Cole both work professionally to address climate change—Naomi in urban sustainability and energy efficiency and Joe in the electrification of buildings and transportation. A passion for debarbonization, and their commitment to walk the walk, has led them to ductless heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction cooking, solar in multiple forms, hang-drying laundry (including cloth diapers), no cars to electric cars and charging without a garage or driveway, a reforestation grant from the US Department of Agriculture, and more. They live in Portland, OR, with two young children.

 

Our team researches products, companies, studies, and techniques to bring you the best of zero building. Zero Energy Project does not independently verify the accuracy of all claims regarding featured products, manufacturers, or linked articles. Additionally, product and brand mentions on Zero Energy Project do not imply endorsement or sponsorship unless specified otherwise.

Reference

Pearl Home Certification: Leading the Way to High Performance
CategoriesSustainable News Zero Energy Homes

Pearl Home Certification: Leading the Way to High Performance

By Zarkon Group,

A Platinum-level Pearl Certification renovation in Long Island, NY, prioritized both comfort and cost savings. The homeowners installed heat pumps, ENERGY STAR certified windows and doors, advanced cellulose-dense insulation, as well as solar panels. Smart home technology helps them manage energy and monitor savings

Tracking home improvements

The journey towards a more sustainable, comfortable, and valuable home can be long and complex. In his renovations, Woodcock said he primarily takes advantage of Pearl Points, a scoring system designed to help homeowners recognize and track high-performing assets and potential improvements. “The scoring system is sort of addictive,” Patrick says. “By that, I mean it’s like the way you want to reach the next level in a video game.”

Pearl’s multiple certification levels present your home’s overall performance, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Plus, it deep-dives into specific categories of assets:

  • Building Shell, including insulation
  • Heating & Cooling systems
  • Baseload appliance energy use
  • Home Management, like smart thermostats and dashboards
  • Solar, EV & Energy Storage

A home that doesn’t reach Pearl Silver (yet!) can qualify for Pearl Asset Certification, highlighting one or more high-performing features: high-performance windows and doors, heat pumps, ENERGY STAR appliances, etc. Assets that interact more with your local climate will earn more points. For instance, a high-efficiency air conditioner will be worth more points in Phoenix than in the Midwest.

This helps identify the most impactful home upgrades, from temperature and humidity control to reducing energy bills and resilience in the face of climate change, including well-being issues like indoor air quality. These “hidden” systems have no curb appeal but do represent valuable, long-lasting home investments.

The Green Door app will recommend priority tasks and update your plan as you bring assets online, earning Pearl Points toward higher home certification. Maintenance reminders help you ensure your investments continue to save on your energy bill and retain their value. Finally, the app stores the documentation and warranties on upgraded systems.

To achieve Gold-level Pearl Certification, this renovation in Phoenix included solar panels, AeroSealing, an EV charger, and ENERGY STAR certified appliances.

Contractor connection

Jan Green, a realtor and certified eco-broker, transformed her 1979 dilapidated Phoenix home, purchased in 2015, into a net-zero, energy-efficient residence, earning a Pearl Gold Certification. “A lot of people probably don’t know this—I certainly didn’t—but if the contractor who does your energy audit is also a certified contractor, with the capabilities to handle whatever fixes or replacements the audit revealed, it’s fairly standard practice for them to waive the cost of the energy audit as long as you contract with them for services,” said Green.

Homeowners can access Pearl’s network of contractors through the Green Door app. Importantly, any work done by a Pearl Contractor is automatically Pearl Certified upon successful completion. This ensures that the improvements contribute towards the home’s certification and overall value.

Green began with an energy audit, and then step-by-step upgraded her home with efficiency renovations: air sealing, LED lighting, energy-efficient appliances, and solar panels. She was able to offset some costs with a 26% federal tax credit and state incentives. Her approach aligns with the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) incentives for high-performing home improvements. Homeowners can determine which specific funds are available for different upgrades utilizing Pearl’s IRA Rebates Calculator.

Looking to sell?

Pearl hosts a nationwide network of real estate agents who are trained to identify and certify high-performing home features. They can then leverage the marketing materials provided with Pearl Certification to highlight a home’s high-performance qualities and capitalize on their added value.

More and more new homes include high-performing features. And as more cities adopt stricter energy codes, this is where the market is headed. An eco-savvy real estate agent can ensure you get the most value for your efficiency renovations by optimizing the green fields in MLS databases and filling out the Appraisal Institute’s Green and Energy Efficient Addendum. They know how to market individual energy efficiency, home automation, and solar features, as well as connect whole-home performance to value and comfort.

Home certification is a gateway to a higher standard of living and a testament to the value of sustainability investments in our homes. In an evolving real estate market, Pearl Certification recognizes what’s already working and helps unlock the full potential of our homes to create a better, greener future.

Reference

Sungai Watch chair consists of 2,000 plastic bags from Bali’s rivers
CategoriesSustainable News

Sungai Watch chair consists of 2,000 plastic bags from Bali’s rivers

By Zarkon Group,

Indonesian non-profit Sungai Watch has unveiled the debut furniture launch from its design studio Sungai Design, aimed at creating useful products from the mountains of plastic waste that it fishes from Bali’s rivers every day.

The Ombak lounge chair, created in collaboration with American designer Mike Russek, is made using a sheet material produced entirely from discarded plastic bags, with around 2,000 needed for every chair.

The bags are collected by Sungai Watch, which is on a mission to eliminate ocean plastic pollution using its own system of floating barriers to capture the waste as it flows along Indonesia’s rivers.

Blue Ombak chair next to a poolBlue Ombak chair next to a pool
Sungai design has launched its first-ever product

Since its inception three years ago, the organisation has installed 270 barriers and collected more than 1.8 million kilograms of plastic, resulting in a huge stockpile of material.

Plastic bags are the most frequently collected item and also the least sought after in terms of future value, which led the team to focus on creating a product collection using this readily available resource.

“Collecting and amassing plastic waste solves one part of the problem of plastic pollution, the second challenge is what to actually do with all of this plastic,” said Kelly Bencheghib, who co-founded Sungai Watch with her brothers Sam and Gary.

White chair by Sungai Design on a concrete backdropWhite chair by Sungai Design on a concrete backdrop
The Ombak lounge chair is made from discarded plastic bags

“As we collected hundreds of thousands of kilograms of plastics, we started to look at plastic as an excellent source material for everyday products we all need and use, from furniture to small goods to even art,” she added.

Sungai Design has created two variations of the Ombak lounge chair – with and without armrests – manufactured in Bali using processes that aim to minimise waste during production.

The plastic bags are thoroughly washed to remove any impurities before being shredded and heat-pressed to form hard, durable sheets.

Close-up of white Ombak chairClose-up of white Ombak chair
The bags are heat-pressed to form sheets

Precision CNC cutting machinery is used to carve out the different components, which are carefully shaped to minimise material use and leave no offcuts.

The panels are connected by a concealed metal structure, resulting in a pure and visually lightweight form with a simple slatted construction.

Although the design is available in three distinct colourways – Granite Black, Ocean Blue and Concrete White – the upcycling process produces slight variations in the tone and texture of the material, meaning each chair has a unique quality.

Ombak means wave in Indonesian and the name references Sungai Design’s commitment to cleaning up rivers and oceans.

In line with this aim, Sundai Design has pledged to minimise its carbon footprint and put in place processes to audit and track the sources of the plastic used in its products.

The company is planning to release other products using the same material and, as a social enterprises, will donate part of its revenue to Sungai Watch to further the project as it seeks to clean up rivers in Indonesia and beyond.

Black chair by Sungai Design next to a treeBlack chair by Sungai Design next to a tree
The chair was designed to minimise material use and leave no offcuts

“There is so much potential with this material,” added Sam Bencheghib. “When you choose a chair from our collection, you’re not just selecting a piece of furniture; you’re embracing the transformation from waste to a beautiful, functional piece of art that has found its place in your home.”

Every year, Indonesia accounts for 1.3 million of the eight million tonnes of plastic that end up in our oceans, making it one of the world’s worst marine polluters.

Other attempts at collecting this waste and finding new uses for it have come from design studio Space Available, which set up a circular design museum with a recycling station and facade made of 200,000 plastic bottles in Bali in 2022.

White, blue and black Ombak chairs with armrests by Sungai DesignWhite, blue and black Ombak chairs with armrests by Sungai Design
The chair is available in three colours

The studio also teamed up with DJ Peggy Gou turn rubbish collected from streets and waterways in Indonesia into a chair with an integrated vinyl shelf.

“The trash is just everywhere, in the streets and rivers,” Space Available founder Daniel Mitchell told Dezeen.

“It’s not the fault of the people, there’s just very little structural support, waste collection or education,” he added. “Households are left to dispose of their own waste and most ends up in rivers or being burned.”

Reference

A hybrid human-AI system for more efficient security – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

A hybrid human-AI system for more efficient security – Springwise

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: In the midst of a war for talent, security costs in real estate are rising. The good news, however, is that investment – including in new technologies – can help to keep these costs under control. AI is one such technology, and one area where it can help is in reducing the costs associated with monitoring security systems.

Animals, moving objects, and even the weather can trigger false alarms and, if these false alarms become repetitive, it can distract from real threats and necessitate large, labour-intensive, and costly monitoring centres. To combat this, startup promiseQ is harnessing advancements in AI to centralise video surveillance management and filter out false alarms.

Using computer vision and generative AI, the startup forwards only real threats to its customers. And on the rare occasions where the AI is uncertain whether a threat is real or false, the footage is forwarded to the company’s remote ‘crowdforce’ of expert human reviewers. The hybrid human-AI system has a fast learning rate, with the human feedback improving the quality of the AI continuously.

Meanwhile, a ‘Camera Integrity Check’ feature prevents equipment downtime, while ‘Privacy Zone Control’ enables companies to set parameters and exclude certain zones from surveillance. The system’s ‘Device Tree’ feature further enables companies to monitor multiple sites and cameras from a single dashboard. Finally, a reference picture of an area can be uploaded to the system, which is then continuously compared to the live footage to identify any deviations in real time.

Springwise has spotted other innovations boosting safety, including a security robot on wheels and computer vision tech that helps to prevent workplace accidents.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Reference

Using fallen city trees for greener urban building – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Using fallen city trees for greener urban building – Springwise

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: According to one study, rural and urban communities across the US lose around 36 million trees every year, whether that’s due to felling, disease, or weather-related damages. Once they’ve fallen or been cut down, the majority of these trees are chipped, burnt, or simply sent to rot in landfill. This represents a huge waste of potential resources and economic opportunity. One startup that’s hoping to change that is Washington-based Cambium Carbon.

Instead of allowing fallen or cut-down trees to go to waste, Cambium partners with local sawmills and other organisations to turn them into Carbon Smart Wood – a high-quality, carbon-negative building material with various purposes, including decking, siding, fencing, millwork, and lumber. To regenerate land and ensure the long-term of America’s forests, the company allocates 15 per cent of its profits to the planting of new trees, targeting historically underserved and low-canopy areas.

Cambium Carbon also tracks all incoming material through its transparent supply chain software, Traece. With the Traece system, end users can also access information on their Carbon Smart Wood manufacturing, as well as helpful data on the carbon impact, which can be used in a company’s climate reporting as they work to meet sustainability goals.

Numerous companies have seen the potential in Cambium, with Carbon Smart Wood already incorporated across various sites like Maryland’s Guinness Brewery, the Patagonia store in Baltimore, and the National Geographic headquarters in Washington. Furniture retailer Room & Board has also used the material to craft unique coffee and side tables.

There are many other innovators making use of wood to create beautiful, eco-friendly products – including a waterproof wood composite for use in bathrooms and another material made from wood waste.

Written By: Lauryn Berry and Matilda Cox

Reference

Tapping into expert analysis for effective carbon labelling
CategoriesSustainable News

Tapping into expert analysis for effective carbon labelling

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Shoppers are likely to become increasingly carbon-aware as climate change begins to bite. Already, one study has found that 69 per cent of global consumers feel that sustainability is more important to them than it was two years ago.

Dutch startup Greenswapp has developed an API that aggregates peer-reviewed Lifecycle Assessments (LCAs) conducted by research institutes, universities, and think tanks, to display the carbon impact of individual products.

To do this, the company uses a machine learning algorithm to automatically match a product based on its barcode or product name to one of the thousands of product types in its database. It then further analyses the factors along the product lifecycle that cause carbon emissions to differ between versions of the same product made by different suppliers. It can even differentiate between different products made by the same supplier. For processed food, the technology separates out the ingredients it has in its database, calculates the carbon footprint for each, and then adds up the total.

Greenswapp’s technology can be used by supermarkets like Waitrose in several ways. First, it can be used to inform procurement decisions through integration with procurement and inventory management software. Second, it can be integrated into PoS systems to provide customers with the option to carbon offset their purchases.

Finally, it can be used in merchandising to create ‘carbon labels’ that nudge shoppers towards higher-margin sustainable products. At CES 2024, GreenSwapp demonstrated new technology to display climate impact through electronic shelf labels and PoS displays.

Springwise has spotted other companies that are empowering customers with transparent climate data for products, including traceable climate-positive t-shirts and an ESG product rating system.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Reference

Insulation made from mycelium – Springwise
CategoriesSustainable News

Insulation made from mycelium – Springwise

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Construction and demolition is responsible for more than a third of overall waste in the European Union. But now, British company Biohm is reducing this waste by helping the construction industry shift to a circular model.

The startup’s first product is insulation made from mycelium, the thread-like roots of fungi. The material is not only biodegradable, but outperforms typical foam insulation, having less thermal conductivity. It is also slower to burn than other types of insulation and, importantly, it can be composted at the end of its life and used to grow more insulation.

Biohm grows its mycelium by feeding it agricultural and food waste, making the final product carbon negative. The insulation is grown in the shape of a standard panel, then cured to form a strong and rigid material. This approach completely avoids the use of toxic chemicals and fossil fuels and the panels do not produce harmful dust when cut.

Springwise has spotted mycelium being used to replace other materials, including in fireproof building cladding, packaging, and even clothes.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

A new era of energy: district heating and cooling that uses CO2
CategoriesSustainable News

A new era of energy: district heating and cooling that uses CO2

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Almost 25 per cent of the energy produced worldwide is used to heat and cool homes and commercial buildings. And the process of generating this energy is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. District heating and cooling systems are one potential solution. These generate heat centrally and distribute it across a network of buildings in the same neighbourhood, which is more efficient than heating or cooling buildings individually. Usually, such systems use water to transfer heat, but now, Swiss cleantech startup ExerGo is using CO2 as an energy transfer fluid for its closed-loop system.

The CO2 is the basis of a thermal network powered by renewable resources and waste heat. By using liquid and vapour CO2 as a working fluid, the system increases energy transport efficiency over conventional water-based systems. This greater efficiency, in turn, allows for the use of small and more flexible piping, which can save up to 60 per cent in installation costs and time, while reducing noise and air pollution. ExerGo claims that its compact network can save up to 80 per cent in primary energy consumption over comparable fossil fuel-based systems.

In October last year, ExerGo won the European Heat Pump Association‘s Heat Pump City of the Year Award for the successful implementation of its technology in Sion, Switzerland.

Springwise has spotted other technologies that are helping to decarbonise the energy-intensive cooling and heating systems used around the world, including a heat pump that is powered by sound and affordable geothermal heating and cooling systems.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference

Transforming agriculture with carbon-neutral ammonia production
CategoriesSustainable News

Transforming agriculture with carbon-neutral ammonia production

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Today, producing ammonia accounts for around 1.3 per cent of CO2 emissions from the world’s energy system, because the catalytic process requires extremely high temperatures and pressures that are normally achieved using fossil fuels. The vast majority of ammonia is used to create nitrogen fertilisers, making it a vitally important compound in global food production. Hoping to make it easier for farmers to produce ammonia cleanly is Danish startup NitroVolt.

The company has created a patent-pending “Nitrolyzer” that allows a previously carbon-producing process to become entirely carbon neutral and fossil free, with the only necessary inputs being green energy, water, and air. Within the Nitrolyzer, lithium salt is reduced to lithium metal, which then reacts with nitrogen to form nitrides. Hydrogen (which is produced by hydrolysis) can then react with nitrides to form ammonia. To make the process even more sustainable, the lithium can be reused again and again in the continuous reaction process.

Crucially, the Nitrolyzer was created to tackle the logistical challenges that farmers may face in accessing ammonia. The technology is modular and can therefore be installed wherever ammonia is needed, say on a farm or in a greenhouse. This means that farmers and growers can tailor production depending on their needs, and eliminate the costs and emissions associated with transporting fertiliser.

Recently, NitroVolt raised €750,000 in a pre-seed funding, which will be used to expand the team and help to scale the technology.

Fertilisers play an essential role in growing healthy crops and boosting food security, but currently industrial production methods are highly unsustainable. Luckily innovators are searching for alternatives, including the use of dog waste and seed coatings that reduce the need for fertilisers in the first place.

Written By: Archie Cox

Reference

Sap flow sensors for smart water use
CategoriesSustainable News

Sap flow sensors for smart water use

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Agriculture production is both the largest user of water worldwide, and a major water polluter. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, climate-change-induced water shortages are expected to become more frequent. In addition, farmers in many regions are facing increasing competition for water due to rising urban population density and rapid growth of the energy and industry sectors. 

One way to help farmers reduce water use, as well as water pollution, is to use only as much water as each plant needs, avoiding runoff and excess usage. To make this a reality, startup Treetoscope has developed a platform that integrates AI, weather data, satellite imagery, and other remote sensing technologies to provide real-time sap and water uptake data.

Treetoscope’s sensor uses a heat dissipation model to measure the movement of water (sap flow) within the xylem of trees and vines. The sensor detects the distortion of the heat field around the probe, which is directly related to the velocity of water movement. The irrigation management platform is unique and integrates with other weather data to provide growers with insights into irrigation management.

In September last year, the company announced additional investments to its latest seed funding round, bringing the total raised in this round to over $7 million (around €6.5 million), and total investments of $10 million (around €9.3 million), including grants from the Israel Innovation Authority and the Bird Foundation. The funds will be used for research and development and speeding up the expansion across North America and beyond.

Reducing water use in agriculture is also the subject of innovations such as seeds that are more resilient to water scarcity and AI-driven irrigation.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Reference