Carbon Upcycling Technologies Addresses Global Challenges with Breakthrough Platform

Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT), a leading waste and carbon utilization company, is transforming the future of circular materials with its patented technology platform. By addressing global challenges like CO2 emissions and industrial waste, CUT is revolutionizing the concrete and plastic industries by unlocking a new frontier of circular materials.

CUT’s technology platform helps the hard-to-decarbonize concrete and plastic industries by transforming local industrial byproducts and natural materials into superior additives. Its circular-economy-driven carbon capture and utilization system sequesters CO₂ by bonding it to industrial byproducts and waste materials. This process reduces carbon emissions and enhances concrete durability and infrastructure strength.

CUT’s target audience includes the plastics, rubber, and construction industries. Its low-energy process mineralizes CO2 emissions into solid products, reducing carbon-intensive cement usage in concrete and creating stronger materials. The concrete industry, responsible for three billion tonnes of carbon emissions annually, can significantly lower its carbon footprint with CUT’s CO2-enhanced cementitious materials.

What sets CUT apart is its scalability. Since 2014, CUT has scaled its patented reactor to convert CO₂ emissions into value-added materials. By storing CO₂ in industrial byproducts and natural materials, CUT has improved concrete durability by up to 60% and strength by up to 70%.

CUT’s technology can be applied to various materials, including precast and ready-mix concrete, crushed glass, clays, steel slag, volcanic rocks, ashes, aggregate fines, mine tailings, marble dust, and construction debris. Its versatility makes it an attractive solution with broad industry applicability. The technology’s processes and infrastructure are easily replicable across different feedstocks.

CUT stands out with its direct integration of the carbon utilization process at cement plants. Unlike its competitors, CUT utilizes the plant’s flue gas directly as a CO₂ source. Other companies require the purification and transportation of CO₂ under pressure, adding complexity and cost.

Since 2021, CUT has successfully deployed over 1700 tonnes of CO2-enhanced materials in the Alberta construction market. Its portfolio includes projects in Ontario, Rugby (UK), Victorville (California), and Ghent (Belgium). CUT’s technology has the potential for global scalability, utilizing localized feedstocks like natural pozzolans, steel slag, or fly ash.

The commercial implementation of CUT’s technology and its CO₂-derived products contribute to a more circular economy and significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions. In Canada, the technology could reduce annual cement industry emissions by 6,000,000 tonnes per year.

Learn more about the pioneering company via their website: https://carbonupcycling.com/

Solar Innovation at Warp Speed: 5B’s Maverick Takes the Lead

5B is a pioneering cleantech company that has revolutionized the solar industry with its innovative approach to solar power generation. Founded in 2013 by solar engineers Chris McGrath and Eden Tehan, 5B was born out of a desire to solve the challenges encountered while working on some of Australia’s initial large-scale solar projects. Recognizing the need for a new approach, they set out to design a solar solution that could transform the industry. The company has been awarded a World Future Awards in 2023 in the CleanTech category for Solar Systems Solutions.

At the core of 5B’s philosophy is the concept of prefabrication. By bringing tasks out of the field and into a controlled factory environment, the company aims to accelerate solar deployment while reducing costs, risks, and environmental impact. The name “5B” reflects the vast potential of the sun, symbolizing the almost infinite energy available in the 5 billion years of sunshine the Earth has left. It also serves as a reminder to consider how we can harness this potential for our energy needs.

The company’s breakthrough came with the development of the 5B Maverick®, which consists of up to 90 solar panels mounted on specially designed frames that can be unfolded and installed at speed. To date, 5B has deployed its technology across more than 140 sites worldwide with a total generating capacity of over 70MW.

The 5B Maverick is designed to deploy up to 10 times faster than conventional solar technologies and generates up to 1.6 times more power per hectare. The solution offers wide applicability for large-scale solar power generation, commercial and industrial applications, and off-grid solutions.

What sets the 5B Maverick apart from its competitors is its unparalleled speed and efficiency. The 5B Maverick was used to deploy panels with 1.1MW capacity in a single day with a team of only 10 at AES’ Andes Solar II B facility in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

As an Australian solar pioneer, 5B is rapidly advancing access to gigawatt-scale solar energy through its ground mount technology. The company is transforming solar technologies to create a world where abundant, accessible, and affordable solar power meets all our energy requirements. Its mission is to accelerate the adoption of low-cost, safely deployed solar energy on a global scale.

5B has proven the efficacy and scalability of its innovative solar solution with over 140 deployed sites worldwide, totaling a generating capacity of over 70MW. The company’s customer base includes major commercial and utility-scale solar developers, mining and industrial organizations, and global Independent Power Producers (IPPs) who are embracing the clean energy transition.

5B operates globally, with a network of ecosystem partners supporting project delivery across the United States, India, Latin America, and many more countries. The company continues to push the boundaries of solar technology by integrating robotics and automation into both in-field deployment and factory assembly.

In addition to its technological advancements, 5B is committed to building meaningful relationships with First Nations peoples and communities, fostering reconciliation, and acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land. The company’s dedication to sustainability extends throughout its operations, from community engagement and environmental considerations to circular economy principles and skills training.

As a forward-thinking innovator, 5B is defining the landscape of the future by driving the global energy transition. With its unwavering commitment to fast, easy, and ultra-low-cost clean energy, the company is shaping a world where solar power becomes the primary source of abundant and affordable energy for generations to come.

Learn more at: https://5b.co/

Faster, Safer, and Greener: 5B Pioneers the Future of Solar Technology

5B, an Australian solar pioneer, and clean technology innovator, has been honored with a respected World Future Awards in 2023 in the CleanTech category for Solar Solutions. With their outstanding contribution to the solar energy industry, the award recognizes 5B’s groundbreaking work in providing the best solar system solutions, specifically for their flagship offering, the 5B Maverick solution.

Founded in 2013 by solar engineers Chris McGrath and Eden Tehan, 5B emerged from the challenges encountered during the construction of Australia’s initial large-scale solar projects. Witnessing the difficulties faced by solar engineers in manually lifting and installing solar modules in hazardous conditions, McGrath and Tehan envisioned a new approach to the design and construction of solar farms.

This vision led to the creation of the 5B Maverick solution, based on an innovative accordion-style prefabricated and pre-wired 50-kilowatt ground mount solar array. With the ability to be deployed by a small crew in under an hour, the 5B Maverick revolutionizes the solar industry by streamlining the installation process, reducing costs, and enhancing safety.

Prefabrication lies at the core of 5B’s philosophy, as they strive to shift tasks from the field to a controlled factory environment. By making solar deployment faster, more cost-effective, and safer, 5B aims to accelerate access to low-cost, gigawatt-scale solar energy. The company’s name, 5B, alludes to the almost infinite amount of energy potential in the 5 billion years of sunshine the earth has left, designed to provoke the question; ‘How will we use it?’

Embodying their commitment to continuous innovation, 5B is shaping the future of the solar industry by integrating robotics and automation in both field deployment and factory-based assembly.

To date, 5B has successfully deployed its technology across more than 140 sites worldwide, with a total generating capacity exceeding 70MW. With an unwavering focus on the future, 5B aims to transform solar technologies and lead the transition toward abundant, accessible, and affordable clean energy solutions.

Upon receiving the award, Chris McGrath, Co-founder of 5B, stated, “Speed is key to decarbonizing economies and managing the increasing scarcity of resources – that’s our strength. Thank you World Future Awards for recognizing our work and the role 5B is playing in this massive global energy transformation!”

Learn more about 5B via their website: https://5b.co/

Interview with Dmitry Lashin, Founder and CEO of L-Charge

As the automotive industry ramps up the production of electric vehicles, the issue of convenient charging takes on particular importance. The L-Charge team develops and implements advanced technological solutions to help electric vehicle owners in the most innovative and efficient way. The company’s efforts have received international recognition, and this year it was recognized by the World Future Awards as Best Charging Solution for Electric Vehicles.  

We spoke to Dmitry Lashin, Founder and CEO of L-Charge about the company’s goals and achievements and industry innovations.

World Future Awards: To start with, please, tell us about yourself. What is your professional background, and what did you do before you started L-Charge

Dmitry Lashin: Before founding L-Charge, I had a long and successful career working in both greenhouses and energy facilities. I became a leading greenhouse industry service provider, building energy facilities with power in excess of 500 MW.

Now I’m using this experience to develop technical solutions for electric vehicle charging stations. 

WFA: How did the idea of founding L-Charge come to you? 

DL: I have always believed that the future of the car industry is electric. The fundamental idea behind L-Charge’s inception was the understanding that the global charging infrastructure was insufficient for supporting the quickly growing EV needs.

When we initially raised funding, we conducted a market analysis and found that even in California – the most electric-vehicle-friendly state – people were refraining from using electric cars due to the lack of available infrastructure. Even now, the number of ultra-fast chargers is significantly lower than the number of regular ones, meaning electric car owners must plan their travels around the available charging stations – something that simply won’t do. 

We saw this as an opportunity to enter a new market with novel charging solutions for EV owners. We came up with the idea of creating off-grid, super-fast chargers that don’t require a connection to the mains. We have both a fixed option and a mobile option, which can be called to one’s location like a taxi.

WFA: Tell us about your company. What is the general idea behind it, and what does a normal day look like? 

DL: Our core idea is that electric charging should be fast, future-proof, and accessible anywhere. Electric transportation has achieved widespread use relatively recently, which means that the technology of electric vehicles is rapidly evolving. Yet still, the charging infrastructure can’t keep up with that. While it is true that the charging speed is limited by the car’s capacity itself, it can also be limited by the charging station. With new technologies enabling faster charging for new electric car models, we should have more fast-charging stations ready. And still, many of the charging stations that are built worldwide are slow. 

For instance, there are only around 20,431 Level 3 charging stations in the US according to the S&P Global Mobility report. This will only lead to the need to rebuild charging stations, which is very costly. Installing 10 charging stations with a capacity of 100kWh would require a new infrastructure. Even in developed cities such as London or New York, finding 1 MW of spare energy remains a challenge. Since our solutions are off-grid, we also provide aid to another common problem that is large pressure on the grid by electric vehicle charging stations. 

WFA: Your products and services are obviously extremely sought after by electric transport drivers. In which regions are your charging stations most common, and which regions do you see as the most promising in the near future? 

DL: We are UK-based, but we aim for the global market and have manufacturing facilities in Europe and the USA. We are planning on expanding to other markets like the Middle East. 

WFA: What are the biggest challenges you face in your work? 

DL: The growing needs of EV users outpace the speed at which the global charging infrastructure is developing. At the same time, it is also true that not everyone is ready for drastic changes and improvements in the EV charging industry. 

We are still relative newcomers to the market, in spite of operating in multiple countries, but we plan on scaling up and growing and are committed to demonstrate by example how the EV charging sector can be improved. 

WFA: How do you view the global dynamics of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles? What would you change about it? 

DL: We expect that electric cars will need to withstand higher voltage and faster charging in the near future. Currently, companies such as Hyundai and Kia are incorporating new technology to enable their EVs to handle up to 350 kWt of charging power. Looking at this tendency we would suggest installing more charging stations with higher voltages now, instead of waiting for the need to rebuild the charging stations to suit faster-charging cars. We also believe that we should try to use other green sources of energy instead of heavily relying on the grid to avoid power shortages.

WFA: Please could you describe for us, from the perspective of the average electric car owner, the charging procedure in or out of town. What steps do you need to take in order to use the L-Charge service? 

DL: We try to make our users’ experience as intuitive as possible. The steps for using our mobile charging service are the same for all users, in and out of town: First – download our app, second – select their target location, third – select the location, how much would you like to charge, and convenient time – that’s it, the charger will arrive at the chosen location and allocated time. Payment can be done via our app as well for maximum comfort usage. 

WFA: How close do you think the future of fully electrified transport is? What has the most impact on bringing it closer? 

DL: With grandiose plans for the electrification of transport, and prognoses that there could be as many as 7.8 million EVs on the roads of the USA in 2025, it is also necessary to consider alternative energy sources to provide lasting and pollution-free solutions. Even now, some of the states have reported setbacks in their plans for various reasons, including a lack of electricity grids, equity concerns, and supply chain shortages. While some states like Texas and California have stated that their grid should be able to manage the increased capacity of millions of electric vehicles, some other states are not so certain. In the case of it being impossible to use the capacities available, then sun, wind, and hydrogen energy will be the answer. By doing this, a real and time-proof infrastructure will be built for a changing world. 

WFA: What are L-Charge’s most interesting and promising areas of activity at the moment? What innovations and projects can your customers and partners expect? 

DL: Together with developing mobile chargers and fixed charging stations we are also working on making electric vehicle charging seamless. To charge, all you need to do is plug the charging gun into the car, and that’s it. We will recognize the car ourselves and process the payments even without logging into the app. We are also planning on developing charging solutions for the electric boats. 

WFA: How do you feel about L-Charge winning a World Future Awards? 

DL: Being able to overcome our challenges and continue our production is rewarding. Winning World Future Awards is a one-of-a-kind experience and we are grateful for such a high assessment of our technology. This further gives us the incentive to keep working hard and making our technology better and clearer for the customers.

L-Charge: Approaching the Transition to an All-Electric Future

At the beginning of the mass production of serial electric cars, this industry embodied the idea of environmental care and freedom from the need to monitor the amount of fuel in the tank. And while the level of eco-friendliness of electric cars is constantly improving, the issue of their dependence on charging stations is still critical for many buyers. Insufficient infrastructure in rural areas and long charging times are significant constraints that prevent car owners from fully enjoying the capabilities of electric cars.

L-Charge‘s innovative solutions have the ambitious goal of reversing the situation and revolutionizing electric vehicle charging. And given the achievements of the company, it is safe to say that it has already made a significant contribution to the future, where electric vehicles will completely replace all other forms of transport.

Experience, research, and innovation
L-Charge is a company that has specialized in developing, manufacturing, and operating ultra-fast charging solutions for electric vehicles since 2020. L-Charge products were created thanks to the experience in power generation accumulated over more than 20 years of research and rigorous testing. Dmitry Lashin, the company’s founder, saw great potential in this technology and applied his extensive knowledge and skills to develop it and meet the need for a developed system of ultra-fast charging stations on a global level.

The result was immediate, and in just two years, the London-based company has launched a charging station service for electric vehicles throughout the UK capital, and it plans to actively expand to other countries in the near future. L-Charge‘s high-tech solutions have already been recognized by customers and experts, and the company’s recent victory in World Future Awards in the category of Charging Solution for Electric Vehicles is further proof of its success.

Unique product
Claiming its advantages over competitors, L-Charge does not throw words to the wind. One of the key advantages of the technology is ultra-fast charging. It takes several hours to charge a car from 20% to 80% at most charging stations, even if you use so-called «fast» 7-22kW chargers. Stationary L-Charge stations provide up to 2,000 kWh, so the charging speed depends only on the vehicle’s specifications.

Understanding drivers’ need for convenient access to charging stations, L-Charge offers not only scalable fixed stations, but also mobile solutions that help an electric vehicle get its charge no matter where it is.

Scalability and mobility
One of L-Charge‘s key products is stationary ultra-fast charging stations that can be installed on demand almost anywhere. It takes an average of one day to install such a charging station. It operates independently of the grid – the incoming fuel is liquefied natural gas, hydrogen, or a mixture of the two. The chargers are adapted to the users’ requirements and are available in different outputs, from 300 kW to 2,000 kW.

The L-Charge mobile charger works on a similar principle, but it does not require installation. Instead, it is a miniature power plant on board a specialized van that works without a power connection and needs to be refueled with LNG and hydrogen only once a day. This van can be pre-ordered at the right place and time in advance or made an urgent order via a mobile app. The station delivers a charging capacity of up to 130 kW and can be used for ultra-fast charging of all types of electric vehicles.

The benefits of L-Charge ultra-fast charging technology can also be enjoyed on the water. Its floating charging stations of up to 130 kW provide recharging for electric boats, delivering clean, sustainable energy to boat builders, port operators, and marinas.

Transforming an entire industry
The simplicity and user-friendliness of L-Charge chargers, along with their outstanding technical performance, are important factors in the mass transition to electric vehicles. Brand solutions open up new horizons of opportunities both for individual owners of electric vehicles and for commercial entities whose activities are related to transportation. Already today, fleet owners, managers of transport companies, leasing companies, land owners, and taxi operators can join the pioneering initiatives of L-Charge and join forces to bring a more comfortable and cleaner future for all mankind.

L-Charge Awarded by World Future Awards as Best Charging Solution for Electric Vehicles

The evolution of electric transport is in full swing, and its further progress depends largely on how the infrastructure develops. The number of charging stations for electric vehicles is growing all over the world, but we have to admit that there are still not enough of them, which, combined with long charging times, causes inconvenience to owners and users of EVs. For this reason, the L-Charge team’s efforts to develop and manufacture scalable and mobile ultra-fast charging solutions are especially valuable. This year, the company’s accomplishments were recognized by the World Future Awards research team, and L-Charge was named the winner in the category of Best Charging Solution for Electric Vehicles.

World Future Awards is a global award selecting, recognizing, celebrating, and promoting the best products, software, and services that will transform the global economy and define the landscape of the future. The organization researches inventions across all categories, including technology, beauty, health care, food, home, and entertainment, that are making the world better, smarter or even a bit more fun.

L-Charge solutions mark a unique approach to electric vehicle charging that provides a significantly more convenient infrastructure for the global operation of electric transport. Thus, L-Charge charging stations are an important component of the foundation for accelerating the mass transition to electric vehicles and bringing the electric future closer.

L-Charge products and services are the result of more than 20 years of research, development, and testing in the field of power generation. The company has been able to develop a platform that is expected to be a game-changer for the entire industry. L-Charge offers powerful ultra-fast charging stations that operate independently of the grid and can be implemented in fixed and mobile formats. Such stations can be used to provide a complete charging infrastructure in a large city or a rural road network.

L-Charge stationary chargers are self-contained, modular power plants that generate electricity with a generator and use liquefied natural gas and hydrogen as fuel. The brand’s mobile chargers are also self-contained power plants, functioning on the basis of vans, which can deliver the option of charging to any location on request. Delivering high power from 300 kV to 2,000 kV, L-Charge chargers meet the growing needs of individual and commercial customers for fast charging and contribute to the popularization of electric mobility.

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