The 4.0th Time is the Charm

In December, I discussed climate change and why we can’t wait any longer to address it. I also discussed why some numbers are more than just numbers. 413 (CO2 ppm) and 10 (years left to take drastic action) to name just two. I also discussed why these numbers point directly to the need for bold action, why incremental (i.e. less risky) solutions won’t be enough.

The good news is that “bold” and “risky” is what venture capitalists do. Like an increasingly large number of others, HRV is up for the challenge. But given the urgency of the situation in which we find ourselves in 2021, even bold and risky isn’t going to be enough. We need to be “smart.”

Smart means we need to be efficient with capital. It means we need to use every resource at hand in the most intelligent way possible. Increasingly, the most valuable resources we have available to us are not molecules, but bits and bytes. Data. Data combined with distributed, low-cost but high-powered computing enable insights, analysis, and intelligence at levels and speeds barely imaginable a decade ago. Now, these data offers new opportunities for the bold and transformational solutions we need.

Broadly speaking, the digital and intelligent solutions that offer this potential fall in the realm of the next phase of industrial revolution called “Industry 4.0.”  Where the first industrial revolution was marked by the transition from manual production to machines through the use of steam and water power, the second was marked by the advent of electricity and the assembly line, and the third by the advent of computing and biotechnology, the fourth (Industry 4.0) will be marked by the internet, ubiquitous connectivity (e.g. IoT) and cyber-physical “intelligent” systems like artificial intelligence, robotics, and AR/VR.

Some industries—like communications and media—are well on their way through the “digital transformation” that Industry 4.0 will drive. Other sectors, including energy, have only just begun their transformation. But make no mistake, Industry 4.0 WILL digitally transform every industry, including the energy industry.

And this transformation will have a multiplier effect, when combined with clean energy solutions, to drive to the sustainable energy system we need. For example, distributed solar PV alone will move our grid toward sustainability. But solar PV with AI applied to grid and power system data and analytics will enable greater penetration into the grid by optimizing how grid and distributed power interact.

Every day, the potential for intelligent, data-driven solutions to energy and climate challenges grows. Every second of every day, 1.7 MB of data is created for every person on the planet. Only by harnessing this data and the technologies of Industry 4.0, can we realize the potential of those intelligent solutions and address our energy and climate challenges in time to make 413 and 10 just… numbers.