When talking of sustainability, we are actually talking about saving our planet for future generations. Humans have only this one planet where life can survive and thrive, but with the fast-paced industrialization and growing influence of machines, our planet has been facing dire repercussions.
Ironically, these very technical and advanced methods that have brought damage to the planet’s atmosphere and all the environmental species can be used to reverse the process. These might take quite a few decades, but the pollution and environmental hazards can be reversed through smart tech innovations if applied inefficiently and dedicatedly.
Here are some high-tech innovations that are expected to create a sustainable environment through efficient use:
- Electric transport
Electric transport has been already in use in many European and Western countries along with UAE. Tesla is one such giant that creates high-tech electric vehicles (EVs). These are highly efficient for private use and as small personal means of transport. However, a wide-scale public transport production of vehicles is underway. China has already adopted eBuses that are efficiently working in many of its cities.
Similarly, for logistics and commercial transport, eTrucks are being introduced that can work for long distances. More work is being done on their safe and lasting battery use and life.
- Energy storage
Energy is being efficiently stored through powerful lithium and cobalt batteries. Their wide-scale use in EVs and other products has decreased its price manifold. These batteries were being sold at $1000 per kilowatt a decade ago while now they cost just $200 per kilowatt. This makes them a cheap option over other forms of energy storage devices for wider use such as energy grids, personal gadgets, etc.
Besides, lithium-ion batteries are effective for longer use and energy storage in almost all types of devices. These are being made further efficient for electric grids, dams, and other high-power electric sources. Thus, these lithium-ion light sources are adding power to solar developments.
- Advanced plastic recycling
Plastic is being recycled through a wide-scale process that involves tons of plastic waste. This waste is also being converted into many useful products for various industries. One such most advanced and effective process is Pyrolysis which uses high heat in the absence of oxygen to recycle plastic waste for livestock feed in the liquid form. If this pace of innovations kept going, according to McKinsey Global Institute, the worth of plastic recycling-based profits may rise to $55 billion in the next decade.
- Carbon capture
Carbon is one of the most widely released chemicals in the atmosphere which mainly contributes to global warming. A lot of efforts have been taken to curb carbon emissions however, huge industrial complexes have still not been able to fully put a carbon cap on all their activities of production.
With the advanced carbon capture and storage (CCS) method, industries can capture carbon at its source and compress it to remain limited within a certain storage area. This will restrict the carbon emissions to a certain place rather than affecting a larger area.
Besides, direct carbon air capture is being used to grab carbon from the atmosphere and use it for producing synthetic fuel with less cost and effort.
Since the planet has been damaged by the decades of harmful emissions of gases and other particulate matter in the atmosphere, therefore, only the reduction and eventually the curb on such emissions can bring a sustainable and safer environment for humans and other species. Thus, from industry giants to common people, all need to work together to bring is holistic change.
