Spotted: As the world strives to achieve carbon neutrality, energy storage technology is becoming increasingly important. Renewable energy sources like wind and solar power are intermittent, meaning they’re not always available when needed. Energy storage can help to even out these fluctuations, making renewables a more reliable and consistent source of power. One of the largest energy storage projects in the world is currently being completed in Dalian, China.
The Dalian Flow Battery Energy Storage Peak-shaving Power Station will have a capacity of 100 megawatts/400 megawatt-hours, making it one of the largest storage facilities in terms of both power and capacity. The project is due to be completed in mid-October and will play an important role in helping China meet its climate goals.
The Dalian Power Station, which is based on vanadium flow battery technology developed by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), will serve as the city’s power bank while helping Dalian make use of renewable energy – such as wind and solar energy. The Power Station will convert electrical energy into battery-stored chemical energy and back into electrical energy, providing a reliable source of power for the city.
The power station plans to meet the daily electricity demand of about 200,000 residents. Looking ahead the aim is for these numbers to increase as the power station eventually produces 200 megawatts/800 megawatt-hours of electricity. The Power Station is an important step in Dalian’s transition to a clean energy future, and it is hoped that it will help to make the city a model for others in China and around the world.
The roll-out of renewables is gathering pace and with that roll-out comes innovation in energy storage. Springwise has recently spotted innovations such as a thermal energy storage system and a new system that stores energy in the form of heat and compressed air.
Architecture firm BIG has constructed a mass-timber Passivhaus factory in a Norwegian forest for outdoor furniture maker Vestre, which features a green roof and solar panels as well as an exterior slide.
Instead of being hidden away on an industrial estate, The Plus factory development is nestled in 300 acres of woodland near the village of Magnor on the Swedish border.
The cross-shaped building consists of four double-height wings, each housing a different stage of Vestre‘s production process and radiating out from a central office area with an internal courtyard at its heart.
The Plus factory has a distinctive cross shape
Constructed in just 18 months, the 7,000-square-metre factory is made mostly from wood and stores 1,400 tons of carbon dioxide in its structure made of PEFC-certified cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued-laminated timber (glulam), Vestre said.
The building combines energy-efficient Passivhaus strategies with a streamlined, robot-assisted production line, which according to Vestre reduces its energy consumption by 90 per cent compared to a conventional factory.
Its energy and heating demands will be partly met with the help of 900 rooftop solar panels, 17 geothermal wells and heat pumps hidden behind the walls to capture excess heat from the production process.
The factory is nestled into a forest on Norway’s border with Sweden
Taken together, Vestre says this makes The Plus the “world’s most environmentally-friendly furniture factory”, generating 55 per cent lower emissions from energy and materials than a comparable building.
The company claims this also makes the project “Paris-proof”, bringing it in line with global targets set out in the Paris Agreement to halve emissions by 2030.
However, this assessment does not account for emissions generated during the building’s whole lifecycle including those related to Vestre’s production process.
Overall, The Plus falls short of achieving net-zero emissions, which every building both old and new would have to reach by 2050 to help limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
Its exterior is clad in charred larch
Instead, the project is reportedly on track to become the first industrial building in the Nordic countries to reach the highest rating in the BREEAM environmental certification scheme, which is only awarded to the top one per cent of projects.
“There are no industrial buildings that have even come close to the highest standard, not even the second-highest,” BIG design lead Viktoria Millentrup told Dezeen. “So BREEAM-wise, there was not even an example building we could follow.”
“It’s untraditional for a factory to focus so much on sustainability,” agreed lead architect David Zahle. “For a lot of companies, production is about keeping costs low and hiding it away.”
Exterior stairs allow the public to access the roof and look into the factory
In comparison, the interior of The Plus is laid bare by huge windows running up its charred-larch facade and by the glazed courtyard punctuating its centre, both of which are accessible to the public using huge exterior staircases.
In this way, Vestre says The Plus is meant to bring ideas about more sustainable building and production methods to the general public and “build a bridge between the Greta Thunberg generation and industrialists”.
“The project is very transparent, almost open-source both in terms of how the products are made but also in how we’ve opened up the facade to bring people closer,” Zahle said.
“You invite people to play and you invite people to walk up on the roof and you create a park around it so that even a factory can become part of creating a good life.”
A yellow spiral staircase leads from the roof into an internal courtyard
Each of the Plus’s four wings is topped with green roofs grown from seeds that were collected from the surrounding forest and solar panels that together will produce 250,000 kilowatt-hours of renewable energy a year.
Underneath, the roofs are held up by giant glulam girders spanning up to 14 metres and weighing up to five tons, bent into a double-curved structure using “long screws and a lot of force”, according to Magnus Holm Andersen, project manager at timber supplier Woodcon.
“As far as we know, this has never been done before,” he added.
From the central roof, visitors can take a yellow spiral staircase down past glazed office spaces and into the internal courtyard, which is supported by recycled reinforced steel beams and centred on a lone Norwegian maple tree.
A slide, visible in the top left-corner of the building, leads from the roof to the forest floor
Alternatively, a 14-metre long slide – reportedly Norway’s tallest – winds its way around the side of the building and back down onto the forest floor.
The square roof above the office area is one of only two concrete elements in the building alongside the foundation, both made from a mixture of high-strength and low-carbon concrete to minimise emissions and material use.
Stairs are mirrored on the interior and exterior of the building
On the inside, the factory is clad in light pinewood that stands in stark contrast to the exterior’s charred black finish.
Each of the four wings – housing Vestre’s woodwork and powder-coating workshops, as well as a warehouse and an assembly station – features colour-coded equipment and flow-chart-style floor markings designed to help visitors follow the production process from above.
The production line itself combines efficient machinery and artificial intelligence, which Vestre says helps it to “manufacture faster, greener and less expensively”.
Colourful floor markings illustrate the production process
In the colour workshop, for example, two industrial robots named after Norway’s first female engineers are powder-coating metal components using AI and object recognition, and are capable of changing colours in seconds rather than minutes.
Hidden behind the walls of each wing is a technical corridor, in which waste products from the manufacturing process are recycled for reuse.
Here, the water needed for washing metal components is cleaned and filtered so that 90 per cent of it can be cycled back into the process, while wood chips and sawdust are collected and sent off to a biomass power plant to be burned for electricity.
Two self-learning industrial robots paint metal furniture parts
Meanwhile, heat pumps capture excess energy from the process of drying the components and convert it into heat that is then fed back into the production line and used to warm the building.
“Since there’s one owner, it’s easy to do that,” said project manager Jan Myrlund. “Normally, one company owns the plant and another the inside and they deliver their own systems.”
Reducing waste and emissions was also a key consideration in the construction phase, with all equipment powered either by electricity or biodiesel and all felled trees reused as part of the building’s structure or stored for use in Vestre’s furniture.
Trees surround the building on almost all sides
The building’s footprint was deliberately rolled back to leave as many trees standing as possible and where the forest floor was removed, it was preserved and put back in so that greenery hugs the building on all but two sides.
“Normally, when we construct a building in the middle of the forest, we would take a lot more trees away,” said the project’s design manager Sindre Myrlund.
“Originally, we drew a line 10 metres away from the factory, which is more normal. And Vestre moved the line five metres in and said: if you need to remove more trees, you need to ask and get it approved.”
Vestre has previously claimed to be the “first furniture manufacturer in the world” to declare the carbon footprint of all its products.
These figures were prominently displayed on the brand’s award-winning stand at the 2020 Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair, which was later disassembled and reused to form an installation at Milan design week.
Click here to read the Chinese version of this article on Dezeen’s official WeChat account, where we publish daily architecture and design news and projects in Simplified Chinese.
Spotted: The e-bike revolution is here, and it is growing stronger. According to the Shimano Steps e-bike Index, a quarter of Europeans already own an e-bike, with the majority saying they will be mainly using it for leisure, hinting that the appeal of the-bike is moving past commuting. As e-biking grows in popularity, the engineering of e-bikes is becoming more sophisticated. This is where Greyp Bikes comes in, with its line of high-end, fully-connected e-bikes.
From humble beginnings with a one-off ‘e-moto’, Greyp now designs, engineers, and produces e-bikes using a blend of artificial intelligence (AI), gamification, and augmented reality. The company’s bikes are built around the electronics, starting with an integrated eSIM and built-in communication module for internet connectivity. The bike comes with two cameras, which are always recording and can be remotely accessed. Greyp claims the connectivity will eventually allow competition and content sharing in real-time, “turning the sensor-packed bikes into a gaming platform”.
The bikes come in a variety of models, including mountain bikes and hardtail. They feature a powerful 700-watt-hour battery, a carbon fibre composite frame and 150-millimetre travel front and back enduro geometry. One model, the G12S, combines features from both motorcycles and bicycles, along with regenerative braking and a planetary gearbox, and can reach speeds of 70 km/h.
Not content with simply building a better bike, Greyp aims at a bike that is as connected as any other e-vehicle – but with more outdoors. The company describes itself as “a wild bunch of bikers, gadget geeks and outdoorsy types, and we incorporate all those passions into each product we create,” adding, “Our number one advantage / asset is our creativity. We just want to create stuff constantly.”
The growing popularity of e-bikes is being driven by a number of factors, including environmental concern, a desire for exercise and the high cost of commuting on public transit. So, it’s no surprise that Springwise is seeing a big influx of innovative e-bikes, from multi-use e-bikes that can transport both people and goods to e-rickshaws.
Spotted: When most people think of virtual reality (VR), they think of entertainment. But Dutch startup Enliven has a different idea. The company is using VR to create a more understanding and empathetic society. Started by Iranian refugee Alex Tavassoli, who arrived in the Netherlands as a young child, the company is developing VR tech that allows users to see and feel the world from the point of view of those experiencing bullying, discrimination, inequality, and sexual harassment.
Enliven has developed software to run on VR headsets, such as the Oculus Quest. Enliven only sells the software, but does work closely with hardware manufacturers and distributors. The target audience for its platform is companies conducting employee training sessions, but the company has also developed software on the themes of domestic violence and mild mental disability together with the Dutch Ministry of Justice and the Dutch Probabation Service.
According to Enliven, the approach of putting oneself into the virtual shoes of those experiencing crisis has been demonstrated to increase awareness of the emotional and mental impact of destructive behaviour. It claims the experience also improves the chances that users will recognise and adapt their own behaviour.
In addition to providing software, Enliven provides companies with training in how to use it and can also develop bespoke VR to address specific situations. Tavassoli is clear, however, that his biggest motivation is to increase compassion, saying that, “every time someone experiences our content, they are exponentially more likely to act against domestic violence, bullying, or discrimination.”
At Springwise, we have seen VR used in a number of innovative ways, including to test cognitive skills and in the treatment of phobias. This is the first application we have seen that aims to increase empathy and compassion. However, Enliven is keen to point out that the platform is no panacea, saying, “The VR simulation must always be part of a training or course. After the virtual reality experience made its impact, it is up to you as trainer or teacher to turn this into effective (behavioural) change.”
Spotted: There are now a huge number of projects working to reduce or sequester carbon. However, there is not nearly enough funding available for all the projects that require it. This is proving to be a major stumbling block to developing innovative solutions to the crisis of global warming. Estonian DAO (decentralised autonomous organisation) Solid World is working to change this by using blockchain infrastructure to supply forward carbon credits.
To offset carbon use, organisations can either purchase verified carbon credits from an advanced and ongoing offset project (such as established renewable energy or methane capture, for example) or they can invest in new projects that will generate offsets over time (such as a tree-planting project that needs time for trees to mature). Forward crediting is a method of accounting that allows companies to support early-stage projects in return for future offsets. But for forward crediting to work, early-stage projects need sufficient investment.
This is where Solid World comes in. They are creating a blockchain-based tokenised infrastructure that adds liquidity to forward markets. This will be done using a variety of mechanisms, including maintaining ‘world-class’ due diligence and risk assessment of all projects; creating tokenised agreements backed by blockchain and off-chain options; forward commodity trading which guarantees there is always a buyer and a seller at market rates; and collaboration options such as a loan facility collateralised by specific carbon credits held by traders.
Solid World Chairman Stenver Jerkku explains that the DAO is entirely rethinking the mechanics of the forward carbon market. “The carbon markets are really untransparent and predatory towards new players right now. Our mission in Solid World DAO is to fix that. Using Blockchain and web3, we can realign the economic incentives for all the players in the space, bring capital efficiency to the institutions and make sure there is a liquid forward market for carbon credits.”
Blockchain is being used for an increasing number of investment vehicles – especially those involving decarbonisation projects. Recently, Springwise has covered a number of innovations in this space including a nature-backed financial instrument and a peer-to-peer renewable energy marketplace.
Spotted: As the world becomes increasingly aware of the ethical and environmental issues associated with traditional leather production, companies and retailers are on a mission to find high-quality leather alternatives. Lab-grown meat has received a lot of attention, with several companies’ products expected to hit the shelves in 2022 and 2023. Now, another startup is in position to scale up the production of lab-grown leather.
Vitrolabs is developing a process that can efficiently produce leather from only a few cells in an environmentally friendly way. This process involves taking a biopsy—a one-time collection of cells—from a live animal. These cells are then grown in a nutrient-rich environment – dividing and forming into tissue that can then be turned into leather. The composition of the material produced through this process achieves the complexity of traditional hides. This addresses a problem often levelled at other leather alternatives – that consumers crave the luxurious quality of real leather.
Last autumn, the company expanded into a new facility to pilot production, and as the company makes its way to commercialisation, it has received $46 million (around €43 million) in a new round of funding.
“There has been an explosion of companies that are developing alternative materials to leather,” explains VitroLabs CEO Ingvar Helgason. “At VitroLabs, our cultivated animal leather preserves the biological characteristics that the industry, craftsmen, and consumers know and love about leather, while eliminating the most environmentally and ethically detrimental aspects of the conventional leather manufacturing process associated with its sourcing.”
Many innovators are developing leather alternatives made using materials such as apples, hemp, and grape waste. However, VitroLabs is the first innovator spotted by Springwsie that is taking a lab-grown approach to sustainable leather.
