Ana Sofia González
Fatima Lewis Batres
Manuel Medina
EGADE Business School Tecnologico de Monterrey
Ezequiel Reficco
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A Solar Biopanel is a new technology that, through its use, will help to slow climate change and support sustainable cities by generating clean energy and air.
Green Fluidics was founded in 2018, in Toluca, Mexico. It started as a school project, but its founders Adan Ramirez, Juan Arriaga y Miguel Mayorga always saw it as more than that.
They together created the Solar Biopanel, a panel that is made with microalgae and nanofluids. The microalgae acts as a plant that photosynthesizes, absorbing CO2 and creating oxygen, while the nanofluids take solar radiation and absorb the high temperatures, creating energy. The practical, triangular design can be installed on any type of structure where it can absorb sun radiation, and is also scalable and portable.
When Adan and Juan were Biotechnology students at the Autonomous University of State of Mexico, they knew that they don't want to be limited to traditional work or academic topics: they wanted to make a difference.
Adan mentioned a big question that emerged for them: "How can we decentralize the energy? In other words, how can we bring energy to millions of people?" At the same time, they realized that whatever they could create should be also sustainable, because they wanted to avoid problems of waste in the future.
So together with their professor Miguel Mayorga, a Physics professor with knowledge in nanoparticles and nanotechnology, Adan and Juan started a project with a vision of creating a new technology that accomplish these features, thinking above and beyond whatever was involved in their "school project."
In 2017 they create the first solar biopanel and won several awards. However, because they were still in the school, they weren´t taken seriously. That’s what inspired them in 2018 to legally form their own company, Green Fluidics.
The biopanel, which size is of one-meter square, is capable of generating 160 watts / h, reduces 1.5 CO2 per year and in the same size generates oxygen and it is 90% Biodegradable. Finally, the microalgae mass can be use as fertilizer.
In the short term, with the current handmade fabrication process, it is difficult to be everywhere, but they are working to improve the manufacturing process seeking investors to boost the production of biopanels in the next year. If they achieve this goal, this invention will be more affordable to any person. In the long term, it will be possible to have buildings, shopping malls and houses with biopanels generating clean energy and air, creating sustainable cities and communities.
The panel is also a novel innovation for the construction industry, because this technology is not just helpful for the energy and environmental benefits, but is also aesthetically attractive and can be used on a variety of different structures. The aerospace industry is other beneficiary, because of the oxygen production and the use of the microalgae as fertilizers, which can help in research. In the end, those who benefit most are the general public because now they have another option for clean energy that at the same time will be cleaning the air.
At this moment the company is still new and are growing and expanding their profile, but have had several significant recognitions:
• Selected by Mission Innovation as one of the hundred solutions to search to reduce the effects of the environmental change. To be selected they had to be evaluated by both the WWF (World Wild Foundation) and a European company that was responsible to evaluate the environmental element.
• Selected as part of the best 10 sustainable projects of the world by the Global Growth Green Institute.
• Selected as part of the best 5 energy projects by the European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT).
Because of Green Fluidics, now there are fifteen people working on this project of having clean energy and clean air. Also, the new biotechnology industry in Mexico is thriving with many investors who can potentially invest in this business. It is a young business with a lot possibilities.
Everyone benefits from this new technology. if you are a student, business man/woman, a public institution or you have any other role in the society, this invention can help you, by providing a way to have clean energy and air. This new technology is capable to bring 160 watts / h, reduce 1.5 CO2 per year and in the same size generates oxygen, the waste of microalgae mass can be use as fertilizer, and is designed to be compact. You can be monitor the activity of your Biopanel through a mobile app on which you will see you energy and oxygen generation, as well as your CO2 absorption.
When the commercialization of this product starts to be bigger, sustainable cities and communities will be easier to achieve.
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Green Fluidics is a company focused on the development and manufacturing of bio-inspired innovations to make an impact in the energy and air quality on Earth.
