Some of the newest innovation in energy tech is based on lowering the carbon footprint for some of the heaviest industrial processes that add to our carbon bill.
Today, TechCrunch is reporting on a trip taken by some venture capital folks earlier this month to Lancaster, California to check out the work of Bill Gross and the folks at Heliogen, a company that is changing how cement, steel and other materials are made.
Part of the business platform at Heliogen is high-powered solar, which allows solar warming up to 1000°C – that’s a flashpoint for raw materials manufacturing.
Solar experts point out that Heliogen’s new systems move global firms closer to 100% clean energy grids.
Those inspecting Heliogen’s designs say that companies could move to this type of solar production still operating 24 hours a day, and decrease fuel consumption by over half.
The richest man in the world, who is also backing this project, also weighed in on this new technology:
“Today, industrial processes like those used to make cement, steel, and other materials are responsible for more than a fifth of all emissions,” Bill Gates said in a recent statement. “These materials are everywhere in our lives, but we don’t have any proven breakthroughs that will give us affordable, zero-carbon versions of them. If we’re going to get to zero carbon emissions overall, we have a lot of inventing to do. I’m pleased to have been an early backer of Bill Gross’s novel solar concentration technology. Its capacity to achieve the high temperatures required for these processes is a promising development in the quest to one day replace fossil fuel.”
The news is also on display at national network affiliate stations looking into energy developments.
A writer at CNN Wire calls Heliogen a “secretive startup” and notes Bill Gates’s backing, saying the company “emerged from stealth mode” on Tuesday. Other backers include Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the Los Angeles Times.
“Bill and the team have truly now harnessed the sun,” Soon-Shiong reportedly said. “The potential to humankind is enormous. … The potential to business is unfathomable.”
Another key part of the technology is artificial intelligence processes that help to train a vast field of mirrors to optimize solar energy collection.
Check out this groundbreaking energy system and apply it to your technology and energy portfolios.
