Top 10 small- scale renewable energy innovators- guardian website

From high-rise plant factories to solar rubbish dumps, here is the pick of small companies at the World Future Energy conference

A computer-generated graphic of Masdar city, currently under construction in Abu Dhabi, which will host the next generation of small-scale renewable energy companies. Photograph: Fosters + Partners
Abu Dhabi hosting the World Future Energy conference is like Dracula running a meeting of blood coagulant specialists. Never mind that the emirate has vast oil and gas reserves and is throwing up scandalously inefficient buildings by the score, it really wants to make the world believe that the future will be renewable power.

Money is no object here; not only did Abu Dhabi spend big undisclosed amounts in its campaign to house the proposed International Renewable Energy Agency, the emirate is pumping billions of dollars into Masdar City, billed as the world's first carbon-neutral city. Masdar is also paying for the giant London array offshore windfarm in the Thames estuary and many other clean-tech developments in Europe, Egypt and the US.

Now it has now hooked up with the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) to attract the world's top scientists and dozens of blue-chip multinationals to roll out the next generation of renewables.

The energy conference is heavily skewed to solar, as you might expect in this region, but its lifeblood is the small-scale entrepreneurs, inventors and technologists who have come to Abu Dhabi hoping to attract cash and become mainstream in 20 years' time.

Here are my top 10 (mostly) small-scale innovating companies on view in Abu Dhabi this week, in no particular rank or order:

1. Jet-stream power

Skymill Energy is a small US/Indian company trying to harness the limitless high-altitude jet-stream winds that blow at over 200mph at over 30,000ft. Others have tried with tethered kites but Skymill think they have cracked the problem by using a remote rotary-lift aerial vehicle, like a helicopter, which is attached to a generator on the ground. The prize is fabulous: vast renewable energy, no pollution, straightforward technology and available materials. Skymill say it could produce power cheaper than coal and are backed by Boeing, former Nasa scientists and Indian technologists. Pilot trials begin in India next year.

2. Plant factories

Korean company Semi-Materials wants to grow vast quantities of food indoors in what could be high-rise factories. The technology needs no soil but uses nutrients and water with LED lighting linked to solar PV power. These minutely controlled environments, it says, would be ideally suited to high-value crops and avoid bacteria, bad weather and viruses. One plant factory is now working, others are planned.

3. Desert soils

Humus Analysis is a small French firm that has grown out of a government research institute. It makes compost from waste products from the oil industry, as well as municipal wastes and claims to be able to build soils which are good enough to grow grass and trees in a year, and edible crops in two years. If employed widely, says the company, it would enable energy profligate Arab states to reduce water use – and therefore energy – significantly. First trials are taking place in Abu Dhabi this year.

4. Micro geothermal

Ritesh Arya is an Indian hydro-geologist who in 2001 found groundwater at over 11,000ft in the Himalayas, the highest that it has ever been discovered. He is backed by three Nordic research groups as well as giant Norwegian oil company Statoil, and is finding geo-thermal resources in places where no-one thought it could be. Thousands of Himalayan communities could benefit from the source of renewable energy.

5. Solar rubbish dumps

African Renewable Energies is a small London–based firm that aims to help poor communities in developing countries earn money and generate electricity from innumerable rubbish tips around African cities. The idea is to cover landfill sites with thinfilm solar phovololtaic cells printed on to the flexible membranes used to cap landfills. Money would be earned from the UN's clean development mechanism and the electricity should last for decades. Trials now taking place in Italy, the US and Nairobi.

6. Waste houses

2G, an emirates company, takes waste palm tree fronds and leaves, mixes in plastics and produces immensely strong floorboards, gates, walls, cladding, roof tiles, decking and other building materials. The raw material is plentiful and free, and the end product is cheaper than wood or plastic. One factory is already built, others expected soon.

7. Air sandwich

New Japanese technology that uses multiple layers of high performance plastic film with air trapped between them to save up to 40% of energy being lost through glass doors or windows. Cheaper and more efficient than most glass double-glazing and good for retrofits.

8. Desert oases

Hitachi is developing small-scale desalination plants that pump brackish water using PV electricity and then cleans it up using reverse osmosis technology. The result is clean water for humans and animals in remote places which would not normally be served by large scale desalination plants. A 40ft container-sized plant can provide enough clean water for 100 people or a waterhole in the desert. Already being used in conservation areas in Abu Dhabi to help oryx and other animals survive.

9. Algae power

Algaeventure is a small US company that has found a cheap way to efficiently separate liquids and solids, bypassing expensive, power-hungry, centrifugal machines. This, they believe, is the key to developing algae as a major source of both food and power in the next 30 years. The company expects algae technology to race ahead in the next 10 years.

10. Solar fridges

Freecold is a small French company specialising in PV-powered solar refrigerators, ideal for off-grid villages, health centres or even remote bars wanting to make ice. It does not need batteries or converters and uses advanced insulation to keep temperatures cool for 75 hours or more.

From the environment blog on the guardian website

This is wrong on so many levels it's really hard to know where to start. News has reached us that the UK regional heats are now open for the Miss Earth Girls 2010 beauty pageant. I kid you not. Try not to retch as you read through this press release :

Applications are now invited from beautiful, passionate eco-warring young women across the UK to enter the 2010 Miss Earth Girls contest. Between January and April as many girls aged between 18-26 who combine a love for the planet with beauty, poise and grace, are encouraged to enter their regional heats online... Modernising the traditional focus of the "beauty pageant" and bringing beauty contests firmly into the 21st century, the main focus of the event is to empower the entrants to focus on and promote environmental awareness. During their participation, the girls plant trees, raise funds for their own chosen charities, attend environmental activities, act as spokeswomen for environmental thoughts and educate people on green issues, in particular the three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle).
There's more to this, but I'm thinking of your health. The regional grand finalists – who will be "intelligent, forward-thinking women proud to 'Be The Change' Gandhi spoke about" - will be announced on June 5, World Environment Day, and four Miss Earth winners representing England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be revealed in August. All four will then go on to compete in the international final in the Philippines at an "ecovillage beach resort" in November to have the chance to be crowned the "ultimate Miss Earth 2010".

If you have taken leave of your senses and are, in fact, tempted to apply, then you must first consider the rather demanding "eligibility requirements".

First, you must have "NEVER BEEN MARRIED". (The organiser Carousel Productions's block capitals, not mine.) You must also be single, have been "born female" and must have "NEVER" given birth before.

But wait, that's not all. You must also be "between the ages of 18 and 26" - although there is a separate "teen contest" for 13-17 year olds. There is a minimum height of 5 feet 5 inches. Finally, you must possess a "good character". Congratulations, if you tick all those boxes. But please do be aware of the stiff competition. Last year, Kayleigh O'Reilly, our representative from Northern Ireland, made it to the final 16, but the ultimate crown went to Larissa Ramos, 20-year-old biology student from Brazil.

There are some special prizes, though, for those that don't manage to win the title. Here's a short selection: Best in National Costume, Best in Swimsuit, Best in Long Gown, Best in Eco-Bag Design Wear, and Best in Use of Indigenous Products Wear. There's also the rather mysterious "Placenta Award", but it's probably best if we leave it at that.

So, how exactly does a beauty pageant help to protect the environment? The organisers say that by "setting a legacy of beauty and responsibility, the candidates and the reigning beauty queen of Miss Earth uphold the preservation of our environment and continue to campaign for the protection of Mother Earth". Hmmmm.

I'm not aware of a rival Mr Earth contest, but doubt I would be eligible anyway given the exacting criteria demanded of the "girls". For a start, I have always found it a challenge "combining a love for the planet with beauty, poise and grace". Alas, that probably rules me out straight away.

Seriously, though, they may well be staging Miss Earth, but are the organisers of this "eco beauty pageant" really of this planet?
Fron

Patagonia

Patagonia is famous for two things. A hard-core approach to the sports they love - skiing, snowboarding, climbing, trail running amongst others - and an utter dedication to environmental values. Patagonia's design philosophy is one of simplicity and utility. Alpinism remains at the heart of their identity, yet their clothing and equipment covers every aspect of outdoor life – free climbing to free time. Patagonia donates its time, services and at least 1% of its sales to environmental projects. They use only organic, rather than pesticide-intensive cotton in their clothing and their Common Threads programme now recycles polyester fleece as well as base layer products.

Designing for durability

The 'uniform project' focuses on environmentally sustainable projects their mission is to revolutionise the way people perceive ethical fashion and place social responsibility at the center of consumer culture. Use fashion as a vehicle to make acts of charity more inspired and playful, enabling individuals to rise as role models of style, sustainability and social consciousness.

The Uniform Project™ started in 2009 when a young woman realized she was drowning in the doldrums of an advertising career. To counter the uninspired demands of the corporate world, she came up with an unusual creative challenge; to wear the same dress for an entire year – but, and this is where the real challenge came in, she'd have to make it look unique every single day and do so without buying anything new. The challenge was also designed to be an online fundraiser, raising money to send underprivileged kids to school.

Thus, in May 2009, with fashion as her medium, and education her cause, U.P founder Sheena Matheiken launched the Uniform Project, pledging to wear one little black dress for 365 days as an exercise in sustainability and a fundraiser to support the Akanksha Foundation – a non-profit organization providing education to children living in Indian slums. And for the next year, Sheena reinvented her uniform solely using accessories that were either vintage, handmade, reused or donated.

'We can no longer import our lives in the form of food, fuel and fundamentalism. Life is homegrown and always has been. So is culture and so too are the solutions to global problems'- Paul Hawken 2008

TEDS design strategies to durable design-
-Minimise waste
-Design for recycling/upcycling
-Reduce energy and water use
-Explore clean better technologies
-Look back to look forward
-Consider ethical and fairtrade production
-Replace the need to consume
-Dematerialise and develop systems/services
-Design activism

Digital Craft

The images shown here are taken from Melanie Bowles 'make it digital' blog. What i like about all these examples especially the 'wallpaper dress project' is that it combines the handcrafted or the old with the new and innovative process of digital printing. What I like particularly about the wallpaper dress project is that it allows that piece of wallpaper...a memory, personal aesthetic to live on.
Melanie Bowles is a London based textile designer and Senior Lecturer in Digital Textile Design at Chelsea College of Art & Design. Melanie’s work explores new concepts for digital textile design and develops systems for emotional durable and sustainable design through bespoke digital print. Her work focuses on the creative interaction between traditional textile design and new digital technology. Digital printing is a much more environmentally friendly way of designing as the chemicals are less damaging then those used in the dyes for screen printing and the waste of fabric can be controlled through setting up compositions to fit the majority of the fabrics width and length. This is also true of other types of digital processes for all different types of design.

What i find particularly interesting working with digital means is that it actually can enhance the hand made craft element of a design and make it more contemporary and relevant to modern day design. As textile designers we are constantly taken inspiration from the past, whether its an aesthetic or just a technique traditional craft methods hugely inform our practice. What I like about digital print in particular is that it allows this 'craft look' to be updated and recycled.
Aesthetically, practically and environmentally I think digital printing will become the most prominent print process in fashion design over the next few years. The same is true for most digital processes. What is important to recognise though is that these methods are tools and that the hand craft will never really die out, especially in times of economic turmoil.

Recycling

Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.[1][2] Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy.-(wikipedia definition)

Junky styling are a collaborative design duo Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager. The label was founded in 1997 after being inspired by the prevalence of recycling in places such as San Francisco and Tokyo and the resourcefulness of the people of Vietnam and Thailand.
What I like particularly about junky styling's collections are that they are relevant to the fashion industry today, although the ethos behind there company may suggest that there collections have a hippy/traveller aesthetic they, there actual designs are contemporary and relevant to the fashion industry.

This topic of recycling is such a huge one to explore, in terms of a young textile design student, it is an area that could be applied to my practice quite easily. As we are encouraged to recycle through most aspects of our life it makes sense for design students, especially in textiles, to design with this in mind. It would make my practical work more informed and relevant to the industry.

Upcycling

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value. Elisa Strozyk's wooden carpet is a really interesting example of upcycling. Strozyk's wooden carpet project was inspired by the cut offs from wooden carpet. By creating a textile that is both hard wearing and movable Strozyk has made a multi functional and durable design that can be used in both an interior and fashion context.

Recycling by itself, only postpones the arrival of the discarded material at the landfill, where it may never biodegrade, may biodegrade very slowly, or may add harmful materials to the environment as it breaks down. A genuinely sustainable future depends on creating closed loops, or cycles, for all industrial commodities, including polyester. In a closed loop, materials would never lose their value and would recycle indefinitely.

(Livingston, B. (2003) Forward-Recycling of Synthetic Contract Textiles: A Vision of the Sustainable Future, The Designtex Group)

Kate Goldsworthy 's research for her PHD was to find an innovative digital finishing process for upcycled and upcyclable synthetic materials, which can be produced to any design specification. Samples of her research are shown at the top of the page.

This prototype finishing technology can be used to replace traditional processes, removing the use of adhesives and other additives often used in production, and enabling a highly responsive and adaptable production capability. Pattern cutting and seam welding can also be incorporated into the same process.

Industry areas particularly suited to this technology are: sportswear, fashion, accessories, footwear, automotive, interior and architectural applications.

Some processes which can be achieved:

Single-layer Embellishment
Devore
Embroidery
Beading & Sequin work
Flocking & Foiling (adhesive free)
Spot Lamination & Coating
Water Repellency
Resist Dyeing
Marquetry & Inlay
Multi-layer Lamination
Quilting & Sashiko
Stitch Bonding
3D Surfaces & Embossing
Double Weave & Jaquard Effects
Sandwich Layers
Elastomeric Membranes
Web formation (lace structures)

Advantages of Process:

Fabric surface manipulation can be controlled more accurately through digital input
Batch production and larger quantities can be achieved at similar cost
Complex 3D constructions can be formed with selective welding through multiple layers
High Gloss & waterproof surface patterning can be achieved without added any extra materials or coatings
New types of nonwoven constructions can be produced through welded web constructions
Strong bonded layers can be achieved without the need for adhesives
Dimensional / padded materials can be produced as a single component, thus enabling easier disassembly and repair
Can be used as a bespoke finishing process to fit with traditional manufacturing methods
The final product retains recyclability at ‘end of life’ and can be fully upcycled into virgin quality material

WORN AGAIN - are a leading design team from the UK who create products and projects based on Upcycling.

“The combined waste from clothing and textiles in the UK is about 2.35 million tonnes, 13% going to material recovery (about 300 thousand tonnes), 13% to incineration and 74% (1.8 million tonnes) to landfill.” University of Cambridge Institute for Manufacturing

Worn Again believes some things are just too good to go to waste.

Worn Again works with leading product designers to transform discarded and unwanted fabrics into modern, wearable clothes and accessories.

For there latest collection, one of Britain’s most exciting new designers, Christopher Raeburn, used decommissioned Eurostar uniforms and retired Virgin hot air balloons to make a range of laptop bags, Oyster card holders and hoodies.

As well as producing products, Worn Again offer consultancy services and remanufactured products for large companies, such as Royal Mail, who want to find a profitable, sustainable way to deal with their waste textiles. Ultimately through creating solutions to these problems 'worn again' help companies meet their sustainability goals, reduce waste and save money.