Positive Innovations: Technology Improving Our World, Part 5 of a Multi-part Series

To replace leather materials made from animal-people, a group of scientists at Mahidol University, Thailand has developed a leather alternative made from pineapples. In the first step of their mechanical process, they extracted fiber from waste pineapple leaves. Their method represents a sustainable, eco-friendly use of agricultural waste. He envisions that this eco-friendly leather could be embraced by apparel and furniture companies, as it provides a greener alternative to traditional leather without added environmental costs.

Stora Enso has developed a new electrode material derived from wood pulp called Lignode, a sustainable bio-based anode envisioned as a replacement for conventional anodes in lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. Altris’s technology for sustainable sodium-ion batteries relies on abundant raw materials free from minerals and toxic elements such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt.

Popular supermarket chain, Tesco, has also launched a sustainable initiative. Most people enjoy shopping for avocados at supermarkets, where plastic sticker labels are commonly found on the fruit. However, that is changing. According to Tesco, laser-etching on large avocados nationwide could save nearly one million plastic stickers. The supermarket is also using easily recyclable cardboard containers in place of plastic trays for avocados.

Here comes Clearbot, a robot garbage-collecting vessel designed to help clean up the mess. With its Pac-Man-like technology, this three-meter-long catamaran glides through waterways to gather waste items floating on the surface of the water. The garbage-collecting robot started as a project by students at the University of Hong Kong in 2019. After a series of presentations, the marine-tech startup Clearbot was founded in 2020. About a dozen Clearbots are reported to be clearing garbage from waterways across Hong Kong, Thailand, and India. The company is now focused on scaling up, with plans to deploy 20 boats by March 2025 and have 50 boats in operation within two years.

We’re now delighted to present the final amazing innovation on our show today: 3D technology that prints vegan seafood. Revo Foods’ 3D-printed salmon is enriched with omega-3 fatty acids, all nine essential amino acids, and vitamins A, B2, B3, B6, B12, and D2. According to Revo Foods, producing vegan salmon products can achieve a reduction of 77–86% in CO2 emissions compared to fishing salmon from the oceans.