Passengers crowd the train entrances at Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, this week after a聽massive power outage聽closed businesses, grounded planes, halted public transport and paused routine surgeries throughout Portugal and聽 Spain.
Passengers crowd the train entrances at Sants station in Barcelona, Spain, this week after a聽massive power outage聽closed businesses, grounded planes, halted public transport and paused routine surgeries throughout Portugal and聽 Spain.
Earlier this week, the Iberian Peninsula went dark. closed businesses, grounded planes, halted public transport and paused routine surgeries throughout Portugal and Spain. While the cause of the blackout is still unknown, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says that about 60 per cent of total was wiped out within seconds.
As the world continues to shift toward lower-carbon energy sources, these outages are inevitable, says Denis Steyn, the CEO of , a Toronto-based company developing technology to facilitate the transition to more sustainable power. As experts about what factors might have led to the Iberian incident, Steyn thinks it鈥檚 likely that the substantial renewable energy penetration in the region played a role. While Ontario relies on renewables to provide just five per cent of its electricity, renewable energy accounts for 80 per cent of the supply in Portugal and Spain. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a stability challenge for the grid operators,鈥 Steyn explains.
Unlike fossil fuels, which can maintain a steady supply of energy, more sustainable options such as solar or wind are subject to ebbs and flows when generating power. These challenges point to why Proventus and other companies in this sector are working to find solutions that can support the adoption of renewables. Long-duration batteries and other 聽options that provide ready-to-deploy backup power could bolster grid resiliency and help mitigate the effects of blackouts.
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鈥淕rids in North America have been underinvested for the last 50 years,鈥 says Steyn, adding that if we want to avoid mass outages down the road, we need to proactively shore up existing infrastructure now.聽
Planetary Technologies gets XPRIZE props
XPRIZE Carbon Removal 鈥斅燼 global competition to find novel technologies that address climate change 鈥 just the winners of its four-year contest. Among the honourees were Nova Scotia-based , which earned an XFactor award 鈥 worth $1 million (U.S.) 鈥 for its systems that alter ocean alkalinity to bolster carbon-capture capacity. The company adds naturally occurring basic minerals to water at facilities such as wastewater treatment sites with the aim of reducing acidity, protecting ecosystems and enhancing the ocean鈥檚 ability to absorb carbon dioxide. 鈥淭his win signals that our work is part of the path forward, and it also highlights the pivotal role that Canadian companies play in a thriving future,鈥 says Planetary鈥檚 CEO Mike Kelland. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be investing in growing our monitoring systems, expanding community engagement and deepening our collaborations to ensure that as we scale, we do so responsibly.鈥 Other XPRIZE champs were Mati Carbon, which took home the $50-million grand prize, and runners-up NetZero, Vaulted Deep and UNDO Carbon, which received $15 million, $8 million and $5 million, respectively.
Pilot partnership
颁补濒驳补谤测鈥檚 , which is developing a hydrogen storage system that can work in low temperatures and low pressures, with Albertan natural gas distributor ATCO on a pilot project. Ayrton鈥檚 electric liquid organic hydrogen carrier (e-LOHC) tech will help facilitate the distribution of the gas at room temperature without requiring novel equipment.
Broadcasters boost Eon Media
Eon Media, which has developed various tech tools geared toward the media, such as livestreaming and extracting metadata, Product of the Year at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show.
Amazon pledges allegiance to Cyclic Materials
海角社区官网company has undisclosed amount of funding from Amazon鈥檚 Climate Pledge Fund as a part of its Series B fundraising round. The company will be using this funding to expand its rare-earth recycling infrastructure to Europe and the U.S.
A big lift for Axtion Independence Mobility
The United States Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has teamed up with Nova Scotia-based Axtion Independent Mobility to use the company鈥檚 for patrons of the Northeast Ohio health-care system. The device, a portable lift and support system with a seat that can lower to the ground as well as rise up to about 60 centimetres 鈥 useful in the case of a fall 鈥 is intended to provide more independence and agency for seniors, individuals with disabilities and others navigating mobility challenges.
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AWL鈥檚 alum accolades
Montreal-based , which makes wireless charging options for personal mobility devices, was recognized at the 脡cole de technologie sup茅rieur鈥檚 . The venture, which emerged from the school鈥檚 Centech innovation hub, received the Centech Most Promising Company Award.聽
By the numbers
5: that have been selected to receive funding from the B.C. Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy. The recipients are Agora Energy Technologies, Seacork Studio, Ayrton Energy, EnviCore and Gaia Refinery.
: How much Zucara raised in its successful Series B funding round. The company is developing a novel therapeutic that will help people with diabetes manage hypoglycemia.
: The cost of the total climate damage caused by the world鈥檚 worst polluters.
67 per cent: who report being polite to ChatGPT. According to Open AI CEO Sam Altman, exchanging pleasantries such as 鈥減lease鈥 and 鈥渢hank you鈥 to the chatbot costs the company
Rebecca Gao writes about technology for聽. Torstar, the parent company of the 海角社区官网Star, has partnered with MaRS to highlight innovation in Canadian companies
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