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Brandon Baker
Jun. 20, 2014 10:29AM EST

Solar Lamps, Electric Taxiing Plane Systems and More Sustainable Energy and Transportation Solutions

Editor’s note: This is part five of our look at various aspects of the Sustainia100. Here are parts one, two, three, four and six.

Some of the transportation selections of the Sustainia100 show how traditionally oil-based modes can become cleaner, while others make green traveling all the more appealing.

In 16 countries, 8D Technologies provides a smartphone app that streamlines your biking route and checks for station availability. Meanwhile, a solution from First African Bicycle Information Organization, also known as FABIO, shows how biking can mean the difference between life and death in Uganda.

Sustainia’s research team reviewed more than 900 projects in transportation, energy and eight other sectors before selecting the 10-category list of 100. The Sustainia100 Advisory Board consists of 21 sector experts from 11 international research organizations.

Transportation

  1. Proterra: Rapidly charging electric buses for public transport

  2. 8D Technologies: Bike-sharing app connects users worldwide

  3. Maersk Container Industry: Refrigerated shipping cuts energy consumption

  4. BlaBlaCar: Ridesharing for people-powered transportation

  5. Transrail Sweden and Trafikverket: IT system for fuel-efficient railways

  6. LATAM Airlines Group and Honeywell: Second-generation biofuel for commercial flights

  7. ChargePoint: Large-scale EV charging with real-time availability

  8. Bhopal Municipal Corp.: Less congestion with bus rapid transit system

  9. Honeywell and Safran: Electric taxiing system for planes

  10. FABIO: Bicycling for better health in low-income communities

Energy

  1. Hydrogenics Corp.: Bridging renewable energy and natural gas dystems

  2. Gram Power: Smart microgrids for renewable energy access

  3. Energy Development Corp.: Harnessing geothermal energy while preserving forests

  4. Aquion Energy: Saltwater batteries to store the sun’s energy

  5. Government of El Hierro, Endesa and the Canary Islands Technological Institute: Autonomous energy system for remote islands

  6. Opower: Saving energy through data and cloud software

  7. SunLife: Solar lamps to replace kerosene lighting

  8. Abengoa: Solar plant with molten salt thermal energy storage

  9. Ambri: Liquid metal batteries for renewable energy storage

  10. Bjarne Schläger Design and Alfred Priess: Self-sufficient solar street lighting

 

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