We mentioned in report on the Clean Air Day summit that there was a lack of discussion on technological solutions to air pollution, so we thought we’d delve more into that this week.
Clearly the main solutions are those that reduce air pollution at source - renewable energy being the primary one, but also tackling pollution from intensive agriculture. Luckily these are similar solutions to tackling climate change so a bright future can be imagined.
Particulates really matter
However, particulate matter (PM) is now coming to the forefront of the discussion on air pollution as the leading cause of death and ill health. While some PM is associated with burning fossil fuels, the majority of PM from transport comes from the wear and tear of brakes, tyres and road/rail surfaces. And heavier electric vehicles mean more PM. Collecting or reducing at source therefore becomes much harder.
A few companies that are looking at addressing this, which we’ve had the pleasure to get to know on the London start up scene:
GoRolloe which collects pollutants from moving vehicles using the energy they create
Tyre Collective which captures tyre wear and has recently completed a very successful crowdfunding campaign
Enso which makes tyres for electric vehicles that produce less wear, resulting in being shortlisted for the prestigious Earth Shot prize last year
Roadvent, whose Pollution Solution sucks pollutants (not just PM) into slots in the roadside and is being trialled in Lewisham.
The challenge with outdoor pollution as opposed to indoor is any purification system has in effect infinite air to cleanse. Some large-scale purification approaches include:
Pluvo whose columns are using in semi outdoor spaces such as railway stations, and also combine local air quality data displays
Aerophile, which amongst other things, has gained prominence for its air purifiers at the Paris Olympics.
And of course our very own:
Air Aware Labs, which is not directly purifying the air, but is helping people find routes and times to avoid air pollution using innovative digital solutions.
Half of these start ups were part of the Breathable Cities accelerator last year, whose demo day we reported on. We are looking forward to a Breathable Cities 2 this year to bring forward more innovation! Most of these start ups and more have been featured in a Climate Hack / HackTrends report. We are very grateful to them for highlighting our work!
So what of our own Air Aware Labs news? We are gradually releasing our new product - AirTrack - which gives personalised dashboards to show your exposure to air pollution. We are testing and releasing premium features over the next few weeks, which will mark a huge milestone in our journey!