Published: October 15, 2009 - 02:00 PM
Cleantech could change the world
The next big technology to sweep the world could be 'Cleantech' - a term that describes a group of emerging technologies relating to alternative energy, more efficient power distribution and new ways to store electricity, all with minimal impact to the environment.
The Global Financial Crisis is not slowing the innovation of better batteries, more efficient solar cells, smarter appliances and electric cars, not to mention all the infrastructure needed to support the new ways energy will be generated and the new ways we'll be using it.
Despite last year's financial meltdown, public and private investment is pouring into start-ups and reinvigorating established companies. Both governments and households are very favourable to new products that improve performance, or efficiency while reducing costs, energy consumption, waste, or pollution. If it takes off, cleantech could affect every part of the economy and our lives.
One example is 'smart grids'. As electricity and gas suppliers install digital meters in homes and households buy appliances that can communicate with the electric system, individual power consumption can be monitored more closely. People could be cued to dial down appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners when electricity is in highest demand. Such fine-tuning in millions of homes can reduce the need for new power plants.
Some of the biggest technology booms first blossomed during recessions. The telephone and phonograph were developed during the depression of the 1870s. The integrated circuit, a milestone in electronics, was invented in the recessionary year of 1958. Personal computers went mainstream, spawning a huge industry, in the slumping early 1980s.
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