Monday 24 October 2022

A garage idea protecting your energy supply

I travelled to Iceland to see first-hand how the country is innovating in the energy industry and green space to create more sustainable technologies and ideas.

Our first stop was at a start-up in Reykjavík called Laki Power, where a simple idea formed in a garage could be the answer to keeping your lights on.

Energy is carried to us from power plants using transmission lines - but we don't often think of what it takes for our energy to reach us when we charge our phone or turn-on the TV.

Transmission lines and pylons are actually subject to many difficult conditions, such as snow, rain and storms - which can lead to them collapsing and this is not only at a huge cost to energy companies but also to the consumer, as you don't get the energy you're expecting.

Óskar Valtýsson created a technology in his home that can monitor these lines and give a live update on how they are coping with adverse weather conditions and if they are in danger of becoming faulty.

Regulating these lines is also a critical part of keeping the lights on, keeping temperatures at the peak level for transmission to carry through.

Watch our film to understand how this technology was developed, how it can be used by the industry and what's next for this start-up.