From one year to another, people become more aware of the existing ecological problems and start to realize the need for eco-friendly solutions. Fortunately, technology also develops in this direction: there are countless startups that offer innovative solutions to eco-problems. In this article, we have gathered the promising projects that have appeared in the recent years. They are united by the same goal to help our planet and to innovate towards clean energy.
New Solar Energy Solutions
- Portable Solar Kitchen — GoSun offers a perfect solution for those who like to spend time outside. This portable kitchen allows you to fry, back, and boil, while it uses solar energy to heat up to 370ºC.
- Solar backpacks and bags — a great solution for everyday life. Voltaic Systems make bags and backpacks that can charge your laptop or phone on the go. Each bag has an integrated battery pack that charges quickly from solar or any AC outlet.
- Portable energy storage — WATTS Battery is a personal power plant the size of a suitcase, which allows to power up everything from your laptop to your house. It can be used both outside and indoors and modules can be stacked as lego to provide more power.
Innovative Projects
Europe has become more and more conscious about the environment as it successfully implements projects involving renewable energy. Here are some promising projects that have been implemented in European countries:
In 2018, the school in Brussels, Belgium, completely switched to solar energy. They placed over 350 solar panels on top of school’s rooftop. Using renewable energy will lead to over 180,000 euros in savings for the school.
In Oslo, Norway, the solar trees were built as a part of Sun Mobility project. They serve as a meeting spot as well as can charge any electronic device. The project aims to make Oslo a greener city.
In Utrecht, Netherlands, there is a new car-sharing service that uses only cars powered by solar energy. The project’s name is “We Drive Solar”, and it is a great option for everyone to make his/her travelling eco-friendlier.
In Puch, Austria, the family uses only solar energy to operate their farm of 27 hectares. They grow over 80, 000 apple trees, and solar power is enough to help them process fruit. They care about sustainable farming, and hope their children will continue this tradition.
In Bucharest there has been built the first neighborhood in Romania powered completely by solar energy. It includes 15 buildings, and has required a 45 million euros in investment. The aim of this project is to show new standards of lifestyle in Romania, that would be eco-friendlier and will leave a smaller environmental footprint.
Overall, technology helps people switch to renewable energy. The more new solutions appear, the easier it gets for consumers to make a choice towards solar energy. While the price of solar energy devices might still come as an issue, hopefully, soon these solutions will be affordable to every family.
This article was originally published on Hackernoon