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Dezeen Debate features rural Belgian home that achieves “such a clean result”
CategoriesInterior Design

Dezeen Debate features rural Belgian home that achieves “such a clean result”

By Zarkon Group,
House in the Fields Stef Claes

The latest edition of our Dezeen Debate newsletter features House in the Fields, a rural home in the Belgian countryside. Subscribe to Dezeen Debate now.

Geneva-based architect Stef Claes looked to mid-century and local architecture to create the low-lying home in Belgium. The residence, named House in the Fields, features white-painted walls and black accents.

Readers discussed the project, with one commending the architects for achieving “such a clean result” and another agreeing, claiming that they “could quite happily live there”.

Architects using AI RIBA reportArchitects using AI RIBA report
“Forty-one per cent of architects now using AI” says RIBA report

Other stories in this week’s newsletter that fired up the comments section included the findings of a report by the Royal Insitute of British Architects which found that close to half of UK architects are now using AI for their projects, the announcement that Foster + Partners is designing a two-kilometre-high skyscraper in Saudi Arabia and an opinion piece by Catherine Slessor about architects working into their older years.

Dezeen Debate

Dezeen Debate is sent every Thursday and features a selection of the best reader comments and most talked-about stories. Read the latest edition of Dezeen Debate or subscribe here.

You can also subscribe to our other newsletters; Dezeen Agenda is sent every Tuesday containing a selection of the most important news highlights from the week, Dezeen Daily is our daily bulletin that contains every story published in the preceding 24 hours and Dezeen In Depth is sent on the last Friday of every month and delves deeper into the major stories shaping architecture and design.

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Clean desalination improves access to drinking water
CategoriesSustainable News

Clean desalination improves access to drinking water

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Desalination of seawater has the potential to help alleviate the world’s decreasing availability of freshwater. The process, however, is polluting and raises the salt levels of the water in which the plant operates to potentially dangerous levels. Additionally, the most common technique (reverse osmosis) of desalination consumes high volumes of energy.

Approaching the process with a different technology is French technology company Seawards. Seawards uses its patented cryo-separation process to desalinate seawater without any pollution and with much lower energy expenditure. Saltwater freezes at a lower temperature than pure water, and this makes it possible to extract drinkable water during a cooling cycle. This is because crystals of freshwater can be separated and collected while the salty water remains liquid.

Of the water taken into the system, around 10 per cent is turned into potable water, while the remaining 90 per cent is circulated back to the sea. Crucially, the returned water is only slightly more salty than when it entered the system and contains no chemicals, meaning it is non-polluting and can be safely absorbed by the ocean without damaging local ecosystems. This stands in contrast to traditional desalination techniques that produce toxic brine (water with a very high salt content) as a waste product.

Seawards’ team emphasises the global need to democratise access to clean water. It is a goal the company works toward with its agile system, modular design, and elimination of pollutants. And because cryo-separation requires less power than existing techniques, the process is more accessible to smaller communities.

The minimised footprint of the prefabricated infrastructure makes it easy to assemble without substantial construction costs and equipment needs, and depending on the need, the cryo-separation system can also be scaled for greater treatment volumes.

From mobile filtration systems to off-grid solar desalination, Springwise’s library includes a variety of examples of innovators seeking ways to improve community access to potable water.

Written By: Keely Khoury

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A green clean: bio-based technology for oil spills
CategoriesSustainable News

A green clean: bio-based technology for oil spills

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: While large oil spills like the Exxon Valdez disaster make the news, smaller spills occur more frequently than the media headlines would suggest. According to the non-profit International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Limited (ITOPF), 2023 saw one large spill (greater than 700 tonnes) and nine medium spills (7-700 tonnes). On top of this, there are thousands of much smaller spills each year that still have a big impact on marine ecosystems.

To make this clean-up greener, Green Boom has developed a line of biodegradable oil absorbents, which can rapidly soak up four times their weight in oil without producing additional waste. This is important because, according to the company, oil spill clean-up creates around 9,000 tonnes of oil-absorbent waste each year, and most solutions involve single-use plastics that end up in landfills.

Green Boom’s products, including booms and mats, feature cotton-based, tear-resistant fabrics filled with natural fibre biomass that repels water and rapidly absorbs oil from spills. All the products are made from 100 per cent sustainably sourced, renewable raw materials.

Video source Green Boom

The company was launched in 2019 and has earned the USDA Certified Biobased Product Certification for its absorbents. Last year, Green Boom partnered up with Netherlands-based Greaner BV to help accelerate the adoption of its more eco-friendly clean-up solutions.

Springwise has spotted several innovations aimed at oil and pollution clean-up. These include the use of oil-eating microbes and hair from salons stuffed into recycled hosiery.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Bringing clean water to overlooked rural communities
CategoriesSustainable News

Bringing clean water to overlooked rural communities

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Today, around two billion people around the world lack reliable access to clean drinking water. And while there are a large number of programmes aimed at expanding access to water in urban areas, improving rural water supply can be more expensive and difficult to deliver, and so often takes a back seat. Now, however, Chilean startup Remote Waters is focusing precisely on this type of outlying region.

The company specialises in supplying small-scale modular water treatment and desalination systems made for remote, rural, and off-grid areas. The company sources water that is unfit for consumption (like brackish water or ocean water) and devises a bespoke, solar-powered membrane filtration system to render it potable.

Once purified, the water is transferred to a pressurised water system or an elevated water tank to facilitate delivery. The system can be operated and monitored remotely, which lowers maintenance costs and speeds problem detection. It is available for lease as well as sale.

The company is currently in partnership discussions with several large companies to explore possible funding streams. Remote Waters founder and CEO Pablo Cassorla told Springwise that the company hopes to “Franchise our brand in different countries of [Latin America], increasing our clean water availability capacity in communities.”

‘Availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’ is a key UN Sustainable Development Goal (Goal 6). Recent innovations helping to meet this goal include solar nanogrids to supply water and power and digital water treatment technology.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

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Biogas digesters: an affordable solution for clean fuel and fertiliser
CategoriesSustainable News

Biogas digesters: an affordable solution for clean fuel and fertiliser

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Analysts expect that almost a third of the world’s population will still be cooking with polluting fuels in 2030. This is bad news for the environment, and threatens the health of those cooking in polluted spaces – a burden that disproportionately impacts women and girls in countries with developing economies.  

Nigerian environmentalist and entrepreneur Tunde Adeyemi wants to relieve those burdens and improve the health and wellbeing of rural communities across the African continent. His solution is customised, portable biogas digesters that turn organic waste into electricity, clean cooking fuel, animal feed, and fertiliser. The Kitchen Box is the home solution, and the Bio-Tank is the agricultural version for smallholder farmers.  

The digesters are not only affordable, costing one-tenth of current biodigester systems – enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) and produce biogas that is safe and emissions-free. Adeyemi’s company, D-Olivette, produces all parts of a biogas production system, from tanks and bags for transporting the gas to a biogas-powered stove. The digesters take 10 minutes to set up and come with a five-year guarantee.  

The Kitchen Box is relatively small at 500 litres, making it suitable for use in diminutive kitchens and cooking spaces. Organic waste is emptied into the container where it ferments into biogas. Once the gas is combusted, it can power super-hot, clean cooking. The byproducts of the process are available for use as organic fertiliser. 

The Bio-Tank works the same way and is available in a variety of capacities from 500 to 50,000 litres, and can be designed and sized to bespoke requirements. The tanks are suitable for fermenting farm and human waste, as well as byproducts from food industry businesses. D-Olivette also offers bags for storage and transport of the biogas, making it easy to share and sell the clean fuel. 

The accompanying app uses AI to maximise use of the system for each owner and help communities earn carbon credits for emissions mitigation. To make the system easy to implement, D-Olivette offers training on the set-up and use of its biodigesters with every purchase.  

D-Olivette recently won the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by the Royal Academy of Engineering and has sold more than 4,000 units of the Kitchen Box. The digesters are currently available across Nigeria and Benin Republic, and Adeyemi plans to continue expanding availability of the systems to reach as many rural communities as possible.  

Other biogas innovations featured in Springwise’s library include municipal and farming systems for transforming organic waste into fuel.

Written By: Keely Khoury

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Making clean hydrogen and carbon black without combustion
CategoriesSustainable News

Making clean hydrogen and carbon black without combustion

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean fuel for the future. And the International Energy Agency forecasts that global hydrogen demand could reach 115 megatonnes by 2030, although this falls short of the 130 megatonnes needed by the same deadline to meet existing climate targets. 

Hydrogen is promising as a fuel because it does not emit CO2 at point-of-use and has a broad range of existing and potential applications – from the power sector to transport and more. However, the way in which the element is produced determines whether or not it is a truly clean fuel.  

Today, almost all the hydrogen we use is created from fossil fuels, which means that its production generates significant amounts of CO2. ‘Green hydrogen’ is an often-discussed alternative to fossil-derived hydrogen. It is produced by running an electric current through water to break the bond between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. If this current is produced from a renewable source, then the entire process is emissions-free. Although very promising, green hydrogen has its own limitations, such as the current high cost of electrolysers needed for its production. 

Now, however, US startup Monolith, has developed a new clean way of producing hydrogen. Using a process called methane pyrolysis, the company heats up traditional or renewable natural gas or biogas with renewable electricity. This process heats the gas but does not combust it, which means no CO2 is released. Instead, the bonds between the hydrogen and carbon atoms in the gas are broken, and the two elements are collected separately.

Video source Monolith

Although Monolith’s process still results in a small amount of greenhouse gas emissions for each kilogramme of hydrogen produced, these are much lower than those produced by traditional fossil-derived hydrogen processes (at 0.45 kilogrammes of CO2 equivalent per kilogramme of hydrogen, compared to 11.3 for steam methane reforming). Moreover, the company claims that the process could be made carbon negative if renewable natural gas is used as feedstock.  

The key benefit of Monolith’s technology is that it is more affordable than green hydrogen production and uses seven times less energy than is required to produce hydrogen with electrolysers. The leftover carbon from methane pyrolysis can also be used to produce carbon black, a material that is used in tyres and rubber products and as an ink, black paint, or dye. This carbon black is normally produced in very carbon-intensive ways, so its recovery from Monolith’s process offers a more sustainable alternative. 

As hydrogen becomes more important for the energy transition, Springwise has spotted several innovators in the archive working on its clean production, including a company producing next-generation electrolysers, researchers making hydrogen from thin air,  and oil-eating bacteria that produce hydrogen from spent oil and gas wells.  

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

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A jellyfish-like robot could clean the oceans
CategoriesSustainable News

A jellyfish-like robot could clean the oceans

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Ocean waste has become a serious problem. The ocean is filled with an estimated 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris, equating to 46,000 pieces per square mile. To hopefully rid the waters of this problem, roboticists at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart (MPI-IS) have developed an underwater robot inspired by jellyfish to collect waste from the bottom of the ocean. 

Other scientists have thought to combat ocean waste using robots, but existing underwater devices tend to be inconveniently bulky and rigid, which means they cannot explore complex environments. Often, they are also noisy because of their electrical motors or hydraulic pumps. 

Instead, the MPI-IS team took inspiration from the ocean and created the ‘Jellyfish-Bot’ – a versatile, energy-efficient, virtually noise-free robot that is just the size of a hand. It can also operate alone or with several others in combination. In the Jellyfish-Bot, the team decided to mimic a jellyfish’s ability to swim upwards and trap objects along its path. This function helps the robot collect waste particles that can then be transported to the surface, where they can be recycled. The robot is even able to collect fragile biological samples like fish eggs. 

Video source MPI for Intelligent Systems

Compared to similar inventions, the Jellyfish-Bot works faster – up to 6.1 centimetres per second, and only requires a low power input of around 100 megawatts. Crucially, if the robot breaks or is torn apart in the water, the polymer material is safe for both humans and fish. 

The team is currently working on making the Jellyfish-Bot completely wireless, and has already incorporated the necessary parts to enable wireless manipulation.  

The Jellyfish-Bot is not the only robot tackling ocean waste. Springwise has also spotted the SeaClear system, which uses a combination of robotics and machine learning to locate and remove marine debris.

Written By: Anam Alam

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An engine turns waste heat into clean electricity
CategoriesSustainable News

An engine turns waste heat into clean electricity

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Various studies have estimated that around 20 to 50 per cent of industrial energy consumption is discharged as waste heat – and up to 30 per cent of this could be harnessed and utilised. Looking to make use of the heat emitted by traditional engines, Israel-based startup Luminescent has built a system that produces zero-emission electricity. 

A small, isothermal engine upcycles waste heat and is designed to fit alongside conventional large engines and generators in order to send electricity back to the grid. If needed, the Luminescent device stores between 8 and 20 hours of renewable energy.  

The new device uses a heat transfer liquid to gather and move the heat emitted from another engine into the upcycling system. The liquid is then mixed with either air or gas and put under pressure, which causes the material to expand – this expansion converts the liquid into kinetic energy that powers a generator. The generator can then run other devices and systems, store power, or send electricity back to the grid. 

Currently working at around 70 per cent efficiency, the system could become available commercially in the next two to three years. Luminescent plans to use the $7 million (around €6.5 million) it raised recently in a round of seed funding to bring the engine to market.  

From the excess heat of public transport systems heating homes to car parks heating the buildings above, Springwise has spotted many ways innovators are making use of previously wasted emissions and resources.

Written By Keely Khoury

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The Earthshot Prize: Clean our air
CategoriesSustainable News

The Earthshot Prize: Clean our air

By Zarkon Group,

Carbon dioxide is not the only pollutant we need to worry about. Carbon emissions may harm our planet, but emissions of nitrogen oxides, ozone, and particulate matter harm our health. According to the World Health Organization, almost everyone on earth – 99 per cent of the global population to be precise – breathes air that contains high levels of pollutants. And the combined effects of air pollution, both outside and within the home, are associated with 7 million premature deaths each year.

Thankfully, the 2022 finalists of The Earthshot Prize are showing how innovation can help us to clean the air we breathe.

PROVIDING LOW-INCOME FAMILIES WITH CLEAN, SAFE, AND AFFORDABLE COOKSTOVES

Household air pollution is a major threat to public health – particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In total, the World Health Organization reports that one-third of the global population cooks using either open fires or inefficient stoves. This releases pollutants that cause a range of health issues from strokes and heart disease to lung cancer. Mukuru Clean Stoves designs and manufactures safer, cleaner cookstoves for low-income families in East Africa. Read more

REPLACING DIESEL GENERATORS ON CONSTRUCTION SITES

 What powers all the cranes, hoists, and welders you see on a construction site? The answer is almost always diesel. Most sites run on noisy, polluting generators – one of the reasons why the construction sector is responsible for 11 per cent of global carbon emissions. These diesel generators also damage the health of local people – particularly in the tightly packed urban areas where most projects take place. Now, one startup has developed a battery energy system that reduces the noise, carbon emissions, and air pollution generated by building projects. Read more

ACCELERATING THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE TRANSITION IN EAST AFRICA

The International Energy Agency estimates that, globally, 13 per cent of new cars sold in 2022 will be electric. But in the transition to electric vehicles (EVs), sub-Saharan Africa faces challenges. These include an unreliable electricity supply, low vehicle affordability, and the dominance of used vehicles. At the same time, transport makes up 10 per cent of Africa’s total greenhouse gas emissions, so there is a need for change. Now, one company is providing electric motorbikes and buses tailored to the needs of the African market. Read more

Written 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.

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Moss wall biofilters clean and cool city air
CategoriesSustainable News

Moss wall biofilters clean and cool city air

By Zarkon Group,

Spotted: Moss is a highly efficient, natural air filter, attracting tiny dust particles to its fine, dense leaves. The plant biodegrades, stores, and eats airborne particles such as soot, ammonium salts, carbon dioxide, and pollen, all of which are harmful to human health. Moss also absorbs warm air, producing a local cooling effect as heat evaporates.  

Greencity Solutions tested 16,000 species of moss to find the most effective ones for use in moss wall biofilters. Living walls are becoming more common architectural features, and with the new moss version, cities have an improved ability to bring the fresh smell and clean air of a forest to crowded, busy locations. After removing the pollution and decreasing the temperature of the air, the moss releases cleaned, cooled air. The effects can be measured up to one and a half metres away from the wall.

Greencity’s three solutions are the CityTree, CityBreeze, and WallBreeze. All three designs use internet of things (IoT) technology to track local conditions and footfall and are connected to a proprietary, cloud-based data platform that automates irrigation and tracks plant growth and health.

The CityTree is a freestanding pillar with a bench that cleans air from all angles. The pillar includes space for an LED screen or poster, allowing owners to customise and change messaging. The CityBreeze is a slimmer design created for high-traffic areas such as train platforms, shopping centres, and car parks. One side is a moss wall and one side is a 75-inch LED screen for high-resolution communication. The WallBreeze is fitted onto a wall, and up to 25 panels can be connected for management by a single account on the data platform.

Springwise has spotted a range of green wall innovations, with some more experimental and in early stages, such as 3D printing with soil, and others that are well-developed, policy-focused solutions seeking immediate, permanent change. That latter includes an organisation in Spain working with local governments to expand the numbers of green roofs.  

Written By: Keely Khoury

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