Massive infrastructure measure creates chances for cleaner tech

The good news is the U.S. $1.2 trillion dollar Infrastructure Bill has passed.

The concern, however, is that the bill is more for maintenance and less for the evolution the U.S. needs to prosper in the 21st Century, namely transitioning to innovative technologies that are cleaner, more cost-effective, and efficient. 

Those who track the advancements in technologies understand that there are innovative, mature companies with a variety of tech that's validated, piloted, and ready to scale. People like Neil Dikeman, co-founder of Energy Transition Ventures, say regardless of government funding, the economics of cleantech will win out.

“The technology to make next-gen infrastructure in energy and climate cheaper and better has been there for a long time, but regulators and policy have not been historically conducive to the investment," Dikeman said.  "The world is awash in capital looking for good projects. Hopefully, the impact of the Infrastructure Bill ends up greasing those wheels.”  

Within the Infrastructure measure's funding categories, there are companies already rebuilding the U.S. in a climate-friendly way under these approved categories. 

$65 billion for grid and transmission line upgrades

Gridware provides real-time power grid fault detection and can help prevent wildfires caused by electrical lines. Hitting power poles to listen for faults every ten years is incredibly antiquated and time-consuming. Gridware's technology uses A.I. sensors to proactively detect possible abnormalities in poles and on lines in real-time and constantly monitors the overall health of the transmission system.

Yotta Energy has developed an innovative energy storage solution designed for the abundance of commercial flat roofs and modular enough to scale with rooftop solar P.V. projects. Instead of one massive battery installed in a special, costly built room on the side of a building, Yotta's technology installs small batteries underneath each solar panel on the roof. Yotta uses battery chemistry that is not prone to chemical fires when ambient temperatures rise. Its batteries feature advanced thermal management to maintain an optimal working temperature even under extreme outdoor conditions.

Lumin Edge is a modular smart energy system and smartphone application that gives homeowners the flexibility to manage, monitor and optimize their home energy usage. The new product turns an individual home into a personal grid where homeowners can balance energy supply sources such as grid, solar, and energy storage with energy consumption. 

$39 billion in modernizing public transit

ZapBatt is creating fast-charging lithium-titanate batteries for a variety of markets, including micro-mobility such as urban ride share programs using electric bikes and scooters. Using a combination of battery chemistry, artificial intelligence software, and custom next-generation hardware, Zapbatt's technology offers longer battery life cycles, faster charging times, and fire-resistant safety to make ride-sharing operations more efficient and less costly. 

$5 billion for a national network of electric vehicle chargers

E.V. Connect is a software-as-a-service company that has built the digital backbone to support the massive build-out of E.V. charging infrastructure. Since its inception in 2010, E.V. Connect has saved over 765,000 gallons of gasoline, powered over 31 million electric miles, and reduced more than 6.8 million kilograms of greenhouse gases. Through its innovative and open charging platform, E.V. Connect works with customers like GM, Love's Travel Stops, Marriott, and more, to quickly deploy, manage, troubleshoot, and scale customized E.V. charging networks. 

Tritium, designs and manufactures proprietary hardware and software to create advanced and reliable D.C. fast chargers for electric vehicles (E.V.s). Tritium's compact and robust chargers are designed to look great on Main Street and thrive in harsh conditions through technology engineered to be easy to install, own, and use. With over 7.6 GWh of energy delivered, Tritium has sold over 4,500 charging stations and provided over 600,000+ charging sessions in more than 33 countries.

$5 billion to replace old, polluting school buses with electric options

Motiv Power Systems commitment to freeing fleets from fossil fuels provides municipalities with a seamless pathway to bus electrification. The company's Type A and C school bus chassis feature CARB certification for 50-state emissions exemptions and operate in school districts in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Long Island, and more. Since deploying the industry's first all-electric Type A school bus in 2013, Motiv has deployed hundreds more, saving thousands of students from tailpipe emissions. To date, Motiv has over 1mil real-world electric miles with key partnerships with Collins and Creative Bus Sales.  

$8 billion to create four "clean hydrogen hubs" to test use in new applications

ZeroAvia's breakthrough hydrogen-electric powertrain technology for commercial aircraft is designed to decarbonize the aviation industry.  As a part of its 19-seat aircraft testing, ZeroAvia is scaling a Hydrogen Airport Refuelling Ecosystem (HARE) to handle the greater demand of larger aircraft, as well as working on a concept study for liquid hydrogen mobile refueling vehicles. The company’s R&D roadmap is targeting 50-80 seat aircraft with a range in excess of 1,000 nautical miles by 2026, and this will require a move from hydrogen gas to liquid hydrogen as the fuel for more efficient storage. To support the production of green hydrogen, ZeroAvia will soon use renewable electricity from solar PV technology installed on the roof of the hangar at its R&D facility in the UK in order to power its onsite electrolyzer. ZeroAvia recently announced a partnership with Alaska Airlines and commercial passenger flights between Rotterdam The Hague Airport (RTHA) and London with a 19-seater aircraft by 2024

$25 billion to fix America's airports

Buildings IOT  provides building controls and integration that can make airport environments cleaner both indoors and out. Buildings consume 40 percent of all energy and emit 1/3 of all CO2 in the U.S. Buildings IOT helps reduce energy use and emissions from buildings and improves ventilation to fight viruses. Currently, BIOT is upgrading the existing building management system at the Oakland, CA Airport.

Zero-emission propulsion technologies such as ZeroAvia's can also support the bill's efforts to establish "modern, resilient, and sustainable airports."

 Now that the legislation has passed, it's up to regulators to evaluate the best technologies for the funding. The good news is, in today's energy transition landscape, there are many choices of strong companies with mature, modern, clean technologies.

Lisa Ann Pinkerton is CEO and founder of Technica Communications, a public relations firm that represents multiple companies including many in the cleaner tech sector.