Innovations, Opportunities, and real world challenges

Green tech, or green technology, generally refers to environmentally friendly technologies designed to reduce negative impacts on the planet through sustainable practices and innovation.

Understanding Green Tech Green technology is an umbrella term that describes the use of technology and science to create products and services that are environmentally friendly. Green tech is related to cleantech which specifically refers to products or services that improve operational performance while also reducing costs, energy consumption, waste, or negative effects on the environment. The goal of green tech is to protect the environment, repair damage done to the environment in the past, and conserve the Earth's natural resources. Green tech has also become a burgeoning industry that has attracted enormous amounts of investment capital.
	Solar Spray Solar panels are used to turn sun rays into energy, but they’re often expensive, bulky and are not particularly attractive. In comes the amazing solar spray! Developed by a Norwegian company called EnSol AS, once sprayed over your ordinary windows it turns them into solar panels that convert sun rays into watts you can use to power your home. The best part? The spray is transparent!
The Power of Footsteps When considering alternative energy sources, companies usually look to sun and wind power, but Powerleap decides to do just the opposite of that. Their alternative idea uses inside energy generated by human foot traffic to harness energy. Train stations, sidewalks, public parks are all great examples of places this technology can be applied.	Science City heating system In many parts of the world, a significant amount of energy is used to cool homes in summer, and just as much is used to hear those homes in winter. In Switzerland, Science City, part of the ETH Zurich campus, has developed a pioneering system that stores the heat of the summer underground, only to pump it back up to heat the homes during winters- talk about thinking outside the box.

Types of Green Tech

Green technology is a broad category that encompasses several forms of environmental remediation. While climate change and carbon emissions are now considered among the most pressing global issues, there are also many efforts to address local environmental hazards. Some seek to protect specific ecosystems or endangered species. Others seek to conserve scarce natural resources by finding more sustainable alternatives.

Electric Vehicles Nearly a third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are released by transportation activities, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.10 Many manufacturers are exploring ways to reduce automotive emissions, either by designing more fuel-efficient engines or shifting to electrical power. However, electric vehicles require a host of innovations in other spheres, such as high-capacity rechargeable batteries and charging infrastructure. In addition, the benefits of electric vehicles are limited by the fact that many power grids still rely on fossil fuels.
Sustainable Agriculture Farming and livestock have a substantial environmental footprint, from the high costs of land and water usage to the ecological consequences of pesticides, fertilizers, and animal waste. As a result, there are many opportunities for green technology in the area of agriculture. For example, organic farming techniques can reduce the damage due to soil exhaustion, innovations in cattle feed can reduce methane emissions, and meat substitutes can reduce the consumption of livestock.
	Recycling Recycling seeks to conserve scarce resources by reusing materials or finding sustainable substitutes. While plastic, glass, paper, and metal waste are the most familiar forms of recycling, more sophisticated operations can be used to recover expensive raw materials from e-waste or automobile parts.
	Carbon Capture Carbon capture refers to a group of experimental technologies that seek to remove and sequester greenhouse gases, either at the point of combustion or from the atmosphere. This technology has been heavily promoted by the fossil fuel industry, although it has yet to deliver on those expectations.11 The largest carbon capture facility can absorb 4,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, a minuscule amount compared to annual emissions.

Benefits of green technology

Green tech has a lot of benefits. Below we share a list of the most important ones:

• Green tech solutions don’t emit any harmful substances to the environment.
• As the technology market grows and consumers become more environmentally conscious, cleantech products give them the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint and resource use.
• It requires less cost for maintenance. As a result, the operating cost and hence overall cost in the long run can be decreased.
• Green tech uses renewable natural resources which won’t ever run out.
• The usage of green technology slows down the effects of global warming due to reduction in CO2 emissions.
• The emergence of new green tech companies stimulates the economy by creating new jobs.

he state of green tech in 2022 and its future

The industry of green technology is constantly growing. As shared in the “Green Technology and Sustainability Market by Technology: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030” report, in 2020, the global green technology and sustainability market size was valued at $10.32 billion and is projected to reach $74.64 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 21.9% from 2021 to 2030. Environmental awareness and the growing concern of organizations and individuals about global warming will only continue to enhance the growth of the green technology market. Furthermore, governments all over the world are starting to invest in green technology businesses to decarbonise the economy and make their countries more energy efficient. An example of such an initiative is the funding announced by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the United Kingdom. In addition to carbon capture projects, the funding will be used to strengthen energy efficiency in UK homes and businesses by finding cleaner, greener ways to heat and power them. We predict that more and more funds like this will be established in the near future.