Mapping the sky to prevent planet-warming contrails
CategoriesSustainable News

Mapping the sky to prevent planet-warming contrails

Spotted: The white streaks that aircraft leave in the sky, known as contrails, account for almost 60 per cent of aviation’s climate impact. But up until recently, contrail prevention was deemed either too difficult or impossible. Now, however, Cambridge-based Satavia has created a technology that enables airlines to create flight plans that minimise contrail formation.

Using data analytics and AI, Satavia has developed a weather prediction model that can forecast the conditions that lead to the formation of contrails. The company’s tech platform, DECISIONX, harnesses and combines multiple environmental, weather, and aircraft data to provide insights into local conditions in the atmosphere anywhere, anytime. This system builds on Satavia’s 5-DX software, which acts as a ‘digital twin’ of the the earth’s atmosphere from surface to space.

The insights from DECISIONX enable flight planners to make decisions to minimise climate impact. For example, they may modify a flight’s altitude or route to avoid flying through parts of the atmosphere that technology indicates are prone to contrail formation. These changes need not be dramatic, as a lot of contrail damage can be prevented by even the slightest variations in a flight path.

The Satavia platform further enables organisations to validate contrail prevention and best practice, and the quantified climate benefit can be converted into ‘future carbon equivalent units’ for trading on voluntary carbon exchanges.

Last year, Etihad Airways signed a multi-year contract with Satavia for contrail prevention. It aimed to see Etihad scale Satavia’s software and apply it through its daily flight operations.

Springwise has previously spotted other innovations aimed at making the aviation sector more sustainable, from the development of a carbon-neutral fuel to AI making flights more efficient.  

Written By: Georgia King

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Pulling diamonds from the sky
CategoriesSustainable News

Pulling diamonds from the sky

Spotted: According to the latest figures, the world produced 116 million carats of rough diamonds in 2021. Admired since ancient times for their sparkle, the gemstones – which are the world’s hardest material – are typically mined from the earth in processes that have negative impacts on everything from soil and air quality to water scarcity, biodiversity, and climate change. What is more, the diamond mining industry has a history of human rights abuses and associations with conflict.

Because of these environmental and social challenges, many people today opt for synthetic diamonds ‘grown’ in a lab. First created by General Electric in 1954, lab-grown diamonds are now big business with a global market estimated to be worth $22.64 billion in 2022 (although this still represents only a fraction of the overall diamond trade). While synthetic diamonds offer a more ethical and sustainable alternative to the mined variety, they are not entirely free of negative impacts as they require a significant amount of coal or liquified natural gas as a raw material and are produced in an energy-intensive process.

Now, however, UK startup Skydiamond is going even further by producing diamonds made from captured CO2 and water in a process powered by solar and wind energy. The company collects rainwater from its factory roof and uses renewable electricity to split it into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is then combined with the captured atmospheric carbon and a special type of microbe to create methane, which is then fed into the diamond mill alongside a small amount of nitrogen. In the mill, this mix is added to a diamond seed and heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius using renewable energy provided by the startup’s partner company Ecotricity. After several weeks, the diamonds are fully formed and sent to be made into jewellery.

The groundbreaking gemstones are used in earrings, pendants, and rings, including (of course) engagement rings. They have also appeared in collaborations with Gucci Vault and Steven Webster.

Other diamond and jewellery innovations spotted by Springwise include jewellery made from regeneratively mined materials, blockchain technology for diamond traceability, and a solar-powered facility for lab-grown diamonds.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

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Smart, green advertising in the sky
CategoriesSustainable News

Smart, green advertising in the sky

Spotted: Though targeted online ads can be highly effective, 54 per cent of people also find them intrusive. In addition, the sheer volume of online advertising makes it hard for companies to stand out, with internet users often scrolling straight past any ad out of habit. Helping brands to stand out in the sea of online ads is Miami-based Sustainable Skylines, an aerial advertising company that is bringing the traditional practice of sky marketing into the 21st century – using drones. 

Sustainable Skylines guides brands from start to finish – assisting with the creative design of a banner, planning the flight path, and analysing the campaign’s success once completed. Benefitting from its exclusive partnership with aviation company Velary and its Vertical Take-Off and Landing technology (VTOL), the company is able to fly slower and closer to the ground than the planes that are traditionally used. 

And crucially, the process is also greener, only using three gallons of unleaded fuel for a four-hour flight of its hybrid-electric drones, compared with the 30 gallons of leaded aviation fuel needed by a single-engine plane for the same journey. Because of this, the company believes its method cuts 90 per cent of aerial advertising’s carbon footprint. 

Instead of a campaign’s success being measured anecdotally, Sustainable Skylines provides an intelligent web-based analytics platform so that brands can monitor the impact of a banner. With the help of AI and computer vision, the company processes live footage of a journey to understand the reach of an ad and how many people were likely to have seen it. Using third-party cellular and geospatial datasets, the company can see exactly how many people on the ground below visited a website following a drone’s flight. With the first- and third-party data combined, Sustainable Skylines gets an accurate picture of a campaign’s success, allowing it to be further optimised in future. 

As well as partnering with Velary, Sustainable Skylines has also joined forces with Mitsubishi Electric, Auvsi, and the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA).

In the archive, Springwise has spotted other innovations working to make advertising greener, including resources to help marketers decarbonise and a tool to calculate and offset advertising emissions.

Written By: Matilda Cox

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david adjaye’s triangular all-timber pavilion pierces the sky at venice architecture biennale
CategoriesArchitecture

david adjaye’s triangular all-timber pavilion pierces the sky at venice architecture biennale

David Adjaye presents ‘The Kwaeε’ at Venice Architecture Biennale

 

At the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, acclaimed British architect David Adjaye has unveiled a striking triangular pavilion crafted exclusively from timber. Positioned just outside of the Arsenale Central Pavilion, the eye-catching structure is aptly titled ‘The Kwaeε,’ taking its name after the word ‘forest’ in Twi, a dialect of the Akan language spoken by millions of people in southern and central Ghana.

david adjaye's triangular all-timber pavilion pierces the sky at venice architecture biennale
David Adjaye’s triangular pavilion stands just outside the Arsenale | image by Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia (also head image)

 

 

all-wood pavilion evokes serene forest-like atmosphere

 

‘The Kwaeε’ installation by David Adjaye (find more here) embodies the essence of its namesake through its form and materiality. Crafted entirely from wood, this triangular prism structure incorporates two oculi, creating an interesting visual composition. By seamlessly merging elements of doorways, platforms, assemblies, and windows, the installation forms a harmonious and unified entity. The deliberate distortion of the shape, thoughtfully angled and integrated with its surroundings, generates passages and openings that facilitate a continuous flow of movement and interaction. Moreover, the structure’s vertical black timber slabs produce a captivating interplay of light and shadow, enveloping the space with a serene forest-like atmosphere.

 

Located right outside of the historic Arsenale grounds at the Venice Biennale (find more here), the pavilion stands out as a captivating addition, showcasing the rich diversity of African and African diaspora practitioners. Its external triangular prism structure contrasts with an internally sculpted ovoid chamber reminiscent of a cave. This design allows visitors to gaze at the sky through the oculi while enjoying glimpses of the surrounding canal through the intricately crafted timber interstices. Not only does the installation provide a tranquil space for reflection and respite, but it also serves as a versatile venue for multiple events and gatherings, accommodating diverse needs and purposes.

david adjaye's triangular all-timber pavilion pierces the sky at venice architecture biennale
the external triangular prism structure contrasts with an internally sculpted ovoid chamber | image by Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia

david adjaye's triangular all-timber pavilion pierces the sky at venice architecture biennale
crafted entirely from wood, the triangular prism structure incorporates two oculi | image by Andrea Avezzù, courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia



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