Monday 2 March 2020

Lights and lasers could ‘slash emissions by three billion tonnes per year’

Photonics, which refers to the technical deployment of light, has the potential to slash global carbon dioxide emissions by three billion tonnes per year by 2030.

That's the suggestion made in a new study by SPECTARIS, the Fraunhofer Institute, TEMATYS and Messe Munchen, which suggests this emissions reduction is equivalent to the amount generated by around 22.2 million diesel trucks each driving 100,000 miles.

It suggests photonics is a required technology in many efficient, environmentally-friendly resources, products and processes - it notes in 2019, energy-efficient lighting, fibre optic network communications, optical detection of forest fires, photovoltaics, optical communication in data centres, energy-efficient displays, laser-supported metal recycling and optical communication in 5G mobile networks reduced carbon emissions by 1.13 billion tonnes.

Dr. Bernhard Ohnesorge, Managing Director of Carl Zeiss Jena GmbH and Chairman of the Photonics Trade Association SPECTARIS, said: "Photonics has made it possible to identify the hazards of climate change.

"It gives us the tools to protect our world. What matters now is that we make sure to use these opportunities wisely."