From extracting water from the ocean air to detecting water pollution through internet-connected molluscs, technology companies presented many interesting innovations aimed at combating climate change at the Las Vegas Electronics Expo.
While 2023 marked the hottest year ever recorded, technology companies presented potential solutions to this major crisis during the Las Vegas Expo, which concluded on January 12, 2024.
Water-Generating Air Conditioner
Genesis Systems showcased the “WaterCube,” a unit-sized air conditioner capable of extracting drinking water from ambient air. David Stockenberg, who co-founded the company with his wife Shannon, stated, “Our primary goal is to provide a sustainable response to the global water shortage.”
He pointed out that billions of tons of water exist in the air worldwide.
Due to global warming, the amount of water vapour resulting from the evaporation of liquid water on the Earth’s surface will increase in the atmosphere.
Like other companies in this sector, Genesis Systems aims to extract this water from the air to supply water to residents in arid regions. However, each device of this kind costs over $19,000.
Stockenberg explained, “Once the system is connected to your home, you can do away with connecting to the city water network.” His company, based in Florida, also aims for its devices to remove carbon from the air, another essential process in combating climate change.
The carbon capture technology requires air drying, a process already performed by WaterCube, according to the company’s president.
Mollusks Indicating Pollution
Other companies, like the French startup “molluSCAN,” leveraged the Las Vegas Expo to showcase their innovations aimed at protecting the environment from future deterioration.
By connecting oysters and sea cucumbers to electrical poles, the “MolluSCCAN Eye” technology aims to monitor water pollution by observing the behaviour of mollusks in a simpler and faster way than analyzing water samples.
These connected mollusks are already distributed in various locations worldwide, from the North Pole to Tahiti, and share their water quality analyses with companies or authorities, as explained by Molluscan’s co-founder Ludovic Chateau.
Moreover, in the field of water pollution, the company “Matter,” with investors including Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher, presented a filtration technology to capture microplastics emitted from washing machines in wastewater.
In the corridors of the Las Vegas Expo, other companies promoted the use of recycled or sustainable materials to fight global warming, highlighting low-energy devices or even more efficient batteries.
French car supplier “Forvia” explained how it utilized hemp, wood, and even pineapples in its innovations. The American startup “Ambient Photonics” exhibited an indoor solar panel capable of generating power from indoor lighting, claiming it would eliminate the use of disposable or rechargeable batteries in many electronic devices.
The company’s CEO, Pete Marshall, stated, “Connected electronic devices need continuous power, which often comes from disposable or rechargeable batteries”.
