Innovative startup of the week
Nanyang Technological University
Using untreated wood in construction can cause fires, so modern construction standards require that wood be treated before use. Researchers at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have invented a fire-retardant coating for wood that is transparent and just 0.075 mm thick. The coating becomes a char when exposed to high heat, which insulates the wood from the high heat.
https://www.ntu.edu.sg/news/detail/invisible-coating-that-protects-wood-from-fire
Bloom Energy
A farm in California is using cow poop to power more than 17,000 electric vehicles. The poop goes from “cow houses” into a pipeline and covered lagoon outfitted with a first-of-its-kind climate-smart digester. The system captures methane gas from the manure that’s converted into renewable electricity via fuel cells. The power is transmitted to the utility grid through a partnership with BMW North America and used to power electric vehicles. Biogas from California dairy farms has the potential to generate more than 300 megawatts of power a year or enough to power 600,000 electric vehicles.
Subsea Cloud
An underwater data center could start operating off the west coast of the US before the end of 2022. It would use the ocean to provide cooling. Each full-scale pod takes 12 weeks to be manufactured and deployed anywhere in the world. The pods benefit from free, passive cooling which leads to a decrease in the amount of power needed to operate the data centers. This decrease equates to 750 tonnes of CO2 being emitted per year, per pod.
Samsung
A new kind of toilet for the poorest communities in the world. The goal is to protect people and communities from human waste-borne pathogens . The system enables treated water to be fully recycled. Solid waste is dehydrated, dried and combusted into ashes, while liquid waste is treated using a biological purification process. Samsung said they will offer royalty-free licenses to developing nations on patents related to the toilet project, while pursuing commercialization of the technology in the rest of the world.
MOXIE by Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's lunchbox-sized machine has been producing oxygen from the Red Planet's atmosphere for more than a year, giving hope of life on Mars one day. To do this, it draws in Martian air and passes through a filter to remove any impurities. The device compresses the air which is then split into oxygen ions and carbon monoxide by electrochemical reactions. The oxygen ions are then separated and united again to create breathable oxygen. At this capacity, the system should produce enough oxygen to sustain humans once they arrive and power a rocket that will return astronauts to Earth.
Puna Bio
The farming industry spends a lot of money on artificial means of reinvigorating soil, but an all-natural solution may already exist: beneficial microbes that have evolved to thrive in extreme environments for more than 3.5 billions year. Puna Biotechnologies specializes in cultivating and applying special strains of microbes to seed stock, and has developed and patented the method of cultivating, combining and applying these special strains to seed stock. This seed treatment can consistently improve yields 10-15% in fertile soils and grow crops in extreme environments and degraded soil.
