? Self-charging devices, Green Data, Circular buildings, oil-free chemicals, and more...

This week, instead of links from around the web, I'm sharing a few provocations inspired by some of the startups and speakers I saw at today's WIRED UK Impact conference here in London.

But as well as using the program to peer into the future, I was also struck that the event itself should remind us that for all our obsession about what is changing, we should never lose sight of what won't change.

Remember when you attended virtual conferences? In the midst of the pandemic they were touted as 'The New Normal'. So efficient! Such reach! So affordable! Then we started multi-tasking, or telling ourselves that we would watch the on-demand videos afterwards (has anyone, anywhere ever done this?!).

Now here we are, back at events, drinking too much coffee and reeling off elevator pitches to people we will probably never see again. But we do it because meeting face-to-face is important. We might have proved that we can hire / operate / sell / gather virtually, but we like meeting people and having the type of spontaneous, free-flowing interactions that Zoom or Hopin still struggle with.?

Will we still spend time in virtual meetings? Of course! The new doesn't kill the old, it sits alongside it. Your challenge is to work out when to embrace the new, and when to stick with the old.

Scroll down for this week's content.

What if … the oceans could power the world? You are used to hearing about wind and solar, but Inna Braverman of Eco Wave Power reminded us that we shouldn’t forget the ocean when it comes to renewable energy, laying out why its low-cost, easy-to-install, resilient energy solution could play an important role in the epic shift away from fossil fuels.

What if … you never had to charge your devices? More clean energy, just on a much smaller scale! Exeger is a Swedish startup that makes Powerfoyle, a flexible solar cell that works with both indoor and outdoor light to power low-energy products. Think remotes, e-readers, watches, IoT sensors or these Adidas self-charging headphones.?

What if ... companies were empowered via data to reduce their emissions? Lubomila Jordanova is CEO of Plan A, a startup which helps its clients understand where and how they can decarbonize their operations. I’ve written before about how Green Data will be part of the Future Normal for all businesses.

What if … take out also took back? Who hasn’t felt guilt when looking at the tower of takeout boxes after a meal? Safia Qureshi is building Club Zero, an ecosystem to deploy reusable food containers. It might be a stretch to imagine this becoming The Future Normal in the consumer space without government regulation, but the B2B space looks promising for these solutions as more businesses chase Net Zero goals.

What if … buildings were ‘material banks’ - designed to be disassembled at the end of their life? Reusable food containers are one thing, but Richard Hubbard argued compellingly that we need to make long-lasting, massive-scale industries like the built environment part of the Circular Economy, too.

What if ... the beauty industry got rid of its plastic packaging? Shellworks makes premium-looking, plastic-free packaging from bacteria, meaning it will biodegrade without any negative residues in your home compost. They recently partnered with sustainable beauty brand Haeckels to replace all its tubs and pots with ones made from Shellworks’ Vivomar bio-polymer.?

What if … we could make chemicals without oil? Shampoo, toothpaste, cleaning products – you are currently using products that are ultimately made from oil tens, if not hundreds, of times each week. Mathieu Flamini and Grant Aarons spoke inspiringly about their efforts to use agricultural waste to create alternative, oil-free chemical production processes in their respective companies, GF Biochemicals and FabricNano.

Finally, remember that not all of these startups will become unicorns. Some may even fail completely. But I hope this week's provocations illustrate the central idea at the heart of this newsletter – the best way to see into the future is by looking at the present.

Planning for 2023?

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If you can see it, you can be it. The Future Normal?explores how we will live, work and thrive in the coming decade by highlighting the breakthroughs and pioneers building our future, today.

Thanks for reading,

Henry