First of all, thank you for your positive feedback and growing interest in this topic. We are already celebrating the 6th edition!
But WHY this ranking, actually? Okay, I'll be honest. My very personal purpose is threefold:
Adaptation Economy: I am both shocked at how many organizations are still overlooking the impacts of climate change today and thrilled by the vast solutions & innovations emerging in the adaptation economy. I want to foster this development.
TheShift: While raising adaptation awareness, I want to win you over to the bold idea of participating in or partnering with the 1st corporate climate adaptation conference, #TheShift (November 6th in Berlin). With my fabulous team, we have just launched the website www.theshift-conference.com . Take a look and register now (early bird tickets available; supporters & content providers wanted).
DSR & Partners: I have founded a new business consultancy focusing on climate adaptation because there is much to do together. Visit www.dsr-partners.com . How does your organization want to become more resilient?
After these confessions, let's start this month's newsletter on heat. Again, we portray a very wide array of solutions, relevant for housing (glass & roof), cities, forecasting, and even personal protective equipment. First, we present the companies and at the end we tell the story of Sunville, a fictional city, applying those innovations. Have an inspiring read!
1. Amperial:
We saw their pitch at the @adaptyourworld conference lately: While large glass facades offer stunning views and abundant natural light, they can swiftly transform a building into a greenhouse during hot days. Enter Amperial, a German company presenting a solution to this dilemma. Amperial's sun shading solutions incorporate smart retrofitting window foils crafted from a unique nano-material film. This film deflects solar heat, shielding everything behind it from heat gains of up to 7°C. By applying a low voltage to the foil, users can regulate the amount of sunlight and solar heat entering a building, ensuring a comfortable temperature while still relishing the benefits of natural light. This innovation can slash a building's energy consumption by up to 25%, thanks to decreased reliance on air conditioning. Amperial is also venturing into the automotive sector, promising to keep you cool while on the road.
2. Solar-Paint:
Traditional roofs behave like “heat sponges,” soaking up sunlight and trapping heat, leading to sweltering indoor temperatures, heat-related stress, heightened dependence on air conditioning, and exacerbating the urban heat island effect. Enter Solar-Paint, a French company with its refreshing solution: SOLARCOAT, a groundbreaking reflective paint specially formulated for roofs. This innovative paint acts as a protective barrier and boasts an impressive solar reflectance of 92%. Consequently, it significantly reduces the amount of heat absorbed by the roof, thus minimizing the risk of creating a heat island. By deflecting sunlight away from the building, SOLARCOAT can lower room temperatures by up to 6 degrees Celsius. This translates to a substantial enhancement in comfort for building occupants or employees, potentially boosting productivity and well-being. Moreover, cooler interiors mean significantly reduced reliance on air conditioning, translating to potential energy cost savings of up to 30%. Just don your reflective hat and reap the benefits.
3. ClimaSense:
How can you be prepared for something that you don’t know? With ClimaSense, a US-based startup, you have the whole package of preparation, from historic data up to precise forecasting. ClimaSense specializes in providing AI-driven climate risk intelligence and insights. They utilize artificial intelligence to integrate historical, real-time, and predictive climate and weather data, helping organizations, governments, and communities plan for and respond to climate extremes. Their technology leverages machine learning and data fusion techniques to analyze vast amounts of climate, weather, and geospatial data, offering detailed, localized insights through their Climate Data Visualization Platform and API.
4. Constellr:
Imagine you're tasked with adapting your city to urban heat during the scorching summer months. Where do you even begin? With Constellr, a startup based in Germany, you can start by pinpointing the heat hotspots across the city. By leveraging their satellite technology, Constellr provides detailed heat maps, allowing city planners to identify areas most vulnerable to heat stress. This invaluable insight empowers decision-makers to implement targeted interventions, such as green infrastructure or improved building design, to adapt to the urban heat island effect and enhance the city's resilience to rising temperatures.
5. Techniche:
What about the heat outside while you are working? Are you tired of sweltering under the burning sun or battling heat stress in demanding environments? We liked a lot Techniche, based in the UK, because it has a surprising solution to keep your body cool and comfortable all day long. With a range of cooling vests and fabrics, designed using advanced evaporative, phase change, and circulatory cooling technologies, you can say goodbye to heat stress woes. A new form of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on the rise.
The Story of Sunville
In the wake of escalating global temperatures and increasingly oppressive urban heat islands, the city of Sunville found itself at a crossroads. As summer heatwaves grew longer and more intense, the urban landscape—a sprawling expanse of concrete and glass—turned into a virtual oven by midday. The city officials, aware of the dire forecasts and the growing discomfort among its residents, recognized the urgent need for innovative solutions to adapt to the extreme heat. This is what might have happened:
Chapter One: The Glass Metropolis
Sunville was a modern marvel with towering glass skyscrapers that offered panoramic views and bathed interiors in natural light. However, these architectural beauties also trapped immense heat. Enter Amperial, a German pioneering company with a knack for transforming these glass giants into cooler sanctuaries. Amperial installed smart retrofitting window foils made from a cutting-edge nanomaterial film across the city's buildings. These foils not only deflected up to 7°C of solar heat but also allowed occupants to adjust the incoming sunlight, balancing temperature with light. This innovation slashed energy consumption significantly, as reliance on air conditioning plummeted.
Chapter Two: The Reflective Revolution
Despite improvements in building interiors, Sunville's rooftops remained a problem—dark, heat-absorbing surfaces that contributed to the city’s sweltering temperatures. The French company Solar-Paint stepped in with its revolutionary product, SOLARCOAT. This reflective paint was applied to rooftops citywide, reflecting 92% of the solar rays and dramatically cooling buildings from the top down. This not only enhanced indoor comfort and productivity but also significantly cut down air conditioning costs, easing the city's energy burden.
Chapter Three: The Data-Driven Approach
With structural changes underway, Sunville's leaders sought a deeper understanding of their urban heat challenges. ClimaSense, a US-based startup, offered the solution with its advanced AI-driven climate risk intelligence. By integrating historical, real-time, and predictive data, ClimaSense provided city planners with a granular view of heat distribution and risk areas. This enabled targeted interventions and resource allocation, ensuring that the most vulnerable areas received priority in green infrastructure developments.
Chapter Four: Satellite Synthesis
The comprehensive urban cooling strategy needed one final piece: precise heat monitoring. A German startup named Constellr, utilized satellite technology to create detailed heat maps of Sunville, identifying hotspots and tracking the effectiveness of implemented solutions. This data was crucial for ongoing adaptation strategies, allowing the city to dynamically adjust to changing climate conditions.
Chapter Five: Personal Cool
Amidst these large-scale projects, Techniche offered individual relief from the heat with its innovative cooling vests and fabrics. These garments became immensely popular among outdoor workers, tourists, and everyday citizens, providing a personal cooling solution that allowed life in Sunville to thrive even during peak heat times.
Epilogue
Through the collective efforts of these innovative startups, Sunville transformed from a heat-stressed city into a model of urban heat resilience. The city not only adapted to rising temperatures but also set a benchmark for other cities worldwide, showcasing the power of technology, ingenuity, and proactive adaptation in the face of climate change challenges.
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