As I was browsing the credentials of my fellow travellers to the Clean & Cool Mission this coming week, I paused to reflect on how the term 'cleantech' is used. Did it just mean 'green' in some vague way? Or worse, was it an example of greenwashing - using specious environmental credentials to enhance the appeal of distinctly ordinary products?
As I delved deeper into the details of what the other 19 companies are up to, I was struck by the enormous variety of activity and approaches. Here are just a few examples: advanced electric motors based on axial flux technology, software simulation tools for architects involved in designing sustainable buildings, prefabricated straw bale and hemp panels, electrical power from ocean waves and a 'virtually waterless' laundry system!
Phew! Who could fail to be impressed by the ingenuity and enterprise we can muster in the UK.
So what do I think cleantech is? It's a very real set of partly related technologies and approaches, broadly in the fields of energy generation and storage, energy efficiency, air and water quality and so on.
I think our battery technology - which improves the capabilities of rechargeable batteries and so can reduce the use of single use cells - fits rather well.
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