Enrico Deluchi * is among the guests of ITWeek, in a panel on climate tech. 29 September at 2:00 pm, in the Duomo
The latest IPCC reports leave no doubt: human activity is the cause of climate change. It is time to work to reduce at least the most catastrophic effects, which cause the deaths of thousands of people, the migration of millions of desperate people, the loss of biodiversity and wars. The goal is simple: decarbonise.
New technologies are needed to increase renewables, eliminate fossil fuels and rethink transport. Solutions that protect natural resources and circular economy models, and new materials that do not impact the environment. These Deep Techs are born in Universities. Research generates new inventions and I am confident that, as Giulio Natta invented plastic at the Milan Polytechnic in the 1950s, the solution that will free us from it will come from a university. The most suitable subjects to translate research into technologies to bring to market are startups. They have nothing to lose. They have no legacy, neither industrial nor intellectual. They are agile and quick to implement the innovations that large companies will adopt to complement and replace traditional technologies. But research and startups need capital and a suitable ecosystem. An example? In June, the German Minister of Economy and Climate announced a 30 billion dollar fund to encourage the creation of startups Climate Tech. And in Italy? We have made progress, especially thanks to Cdp Venture. I hope it is only the beginning to see all the economic, financial and political actors necessary to develop technologies and companies capable of affirming themselves globally.
And while we wait what do we do? Do we go ahead, business as usual or do we change habits and consumption patterns? We don’t need Putin to convince us that we need to make informed choices. Young people have already understood this: many are vegetarians, do not have a car, are in favor of sharing and the circular economy and, increasingly, they choose work based on the company’s values. They are the same people who invent new technologies and found startups.
We do not need the Avengers, those who will guarantee humanity to exist are already among us: they are often tattooed, drink a lot of beer, develop knowledge and weave relationships on the internet and are fully aware of the situation. They are the young people of today and they have 4 superpowers: the motivation to create a future for themselves and their children; scientific knowledge, which is developed in universities and makes it possible to invent new technologies with low environmental impact; the commitment and desire to create new solutions, characteristics of entrepreneurs and startups; cultural diversity, a value and not a threat for those who feel they are citizens of the world.
I live among them and I trust them. This is why we are launching Encubator, a Climate Tech acceleration program to find new technologies and startups in universities that decarbonise the economy and society.
We are doing our part. I hope to be in good company.
* CEO of PoliHub