9 startups using AI to champion sustainability

#1 Erneuerbare Energien Fabrik (EEF)

Erneuerbare Energien Fabrik (EEF), which translates as “renewable energy factory”, has been promoting a regenerative energy supply in Germany since February of this year. Its vision: building an era shaped by sustainable energies by intelligently linking wind power, solar power, and storage technologies with AI software. To this end, the startup implements holistic energy concepts. EEF’s team is active along the entire value chain across three sites in Berlin, Hamburg, and Wiesbaden.

#2 Octopus Energy

Octopus Energy is making the transition to greener energy easier with its cloud-based platform named Kraken. The platform is intended to build a smart grid and give customers access to cheaper energy. With the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning, Kraken can automate a large part of energy supply chains. In contrast to other providers that use multiple systems, Octopus brings together all processes within Kraken – including purchasing energy, load management, and customer management.

#3 Dexter Energy

The AI-based software platform from Dutch startup Dexter Energy forecasts energy supply and demand as well as market trends. It uses advanced machine learning algorithms and big data analytics to help energy companies manage their short-term trading for a portfolio completely made up of renewable energies. The goal is to optimize how renewable electricity is produced and consumed.

#4 neXtract energy

neXtract energy has developed AI-powered solutions aimed at utilizing and storing curtailed electricity – opening up new opportunities for energy producers and service providers to foster innovation and reduce external dependencies in their business models. The company’s vision is to utilize the entire production capacity of renewable energies so that green energy, which we urgently need, is no longer wasted. Operators of wind and solar parks are among the stakeholders that neXtract energy assists.

#5 SkySpecs

The global tech startup SkySpecs, based in the U.S., harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to predict wind turbine faults. As a result, energy costs can be reduced, while also promoting the development of renewable energies. The startup offers fully automated data analytics and fleet optimization for wind turbines. The methods draw on a wealth of expertise, which is integrated into ultra-efficient software tools. The extensive analysis of wind turbine data combined with a high level of automation offers huge potential for reducing the costs of renewable energies, both now and in the future.

#6 Vast Green

Vast Green is a sustainability initiative spearheaded by Vast Forward. As a leader in the digital marketing sector, the Hamburg-based startup has set itself the goal of implementing a holistic sustainability strategy. Vast Forward wants to make a measurable contribution to sustainability and offer its expertise to help other marketing companies adopt sustainable strategies.

#7 Hugging Face

Hugging Face wants to make AI models more sustainable by promoting open-source approaches in the machine learning community. Instead of training models just for one specific application, the open-source models can be reused and implemented for various applications. All pretrained models on the platform can be specially adapted for individual use cases, which is more environmentally friendly than developing new models from scratch. Hugging Face has also set up a database where users can specifically search for low-emission models.

#8 re:cinq

re:cinq helps companies reduce their IT-related carbon emissions, while becoming more cost-efficient at the same time. By taking a data-driven, AI-powered approach, the startup automates data collection and delivers real-time insights into sustainability. It also provides forecasts, allowing companies to make informed decisions in order to minimize their carbon footprint and ensure compliance with ever-evolving regulations.

#9 Terrabyte

Terrabyte is an innovative tech startup focused on developing creative solutions to champion sustainability and tackle the ongoing environmental crises. Far too frequently, digital activities are disconnected from real-world problems. Terrabyte’s mission is to turn pixels and bytes into tangible, positive environmental change. By educating people about the environment in a fun way and turning user engagement into climate action, Terrabyte’s impact goes way beyond just processing data on servers.

Paving the way for a more sustainable future with the help of AI

AI is a key technology for building a greener future – in large part thanks to innovators delivering AI solutions and pioneering ideas to help other companies along the path to becoming more sustainable.

Do you want to learn more about how AI can be used to develop new business ideas while protecting our planet at the same time? The motto of DMEXCO 2024 is “Prompting the Future” – so you can definitely look forward to a whole host of innovations combining AI and sustainability in Cologne on September 18 and 19. Make sure to save the dates!