Green technology and innovation to save the planet

Ryszard Hordyński, Strategy and Communication Director, Huawei Poland

By 2030, we will be generating more than 1 yottabyte of data per year worldwide. At the same time, they will consume huge amounts of energy, with a significant impact on the climate. Improving the energy efficiency of technological solutions is the best solution to the conflict arising between increasing energy consumption and green growth.

However, this is not the only way to halt the climate catastrophe and save our planet. Digital innovation is a key way to reduce the destructive human impact on the environment. Huawei has been committed to promoting a circular economy model for many years. The company is also taking steps to reduce carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of its products. During the development of new solutions, Huawei implements, among other things, intelligent digital mechanisms for IT operations (AIOps) in its products, making it possible to allocate and use, for example, storage resources on demand. This increases the energy efficiency of the technology used.

Pro-climate measures are also needed in the telecommunications industry, which plays an almost crucial role in our daily lives. Providing network access allows us to work, learn or enjoy digital entertainment on various types of devices. To date, Huawei has deployed low-carbon solutions in more than 100 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Greece, Pakistan and Switzerland, helping operators reduce carbon emissions by 40 million tonnes. As a major player in the communications industry, Huawei will continue to put green development at the centre of all its activities and develop innovative solutions to build greener 5G networks with operators around the world.

Looking to the future, green development will be a long-term commitment, helping enterprises to accelerate digital transformation and meet various market challenges. Huawei, as a company that always puts the needs of the countries and societies in which it operates first, is today undertaking a number of other initiatives to minimise its environmental impact.

Among other things, the Digital Power division was created in response to market needs and out of concern for the welfare of the planet. It is a division of the company within which we provide a range of services and technologies in the field of renewable energy. Already today, Huawei inverters are among the most popular solutions of their kind for photovoltaic installations, allowing green energy to be fed back into the grid. They can be seen in homes, for consumer use, as well as, for example, on shopping centres, larger rooftop areas or large photovoltaic farms.

The potential for photovoltaic development in Poland is extremely high, especially looking at the energy and climate challenges posed by the current economic and geopolitical situation. At the moment, the largest farm built with Huawei inverters has a capacity of 70 MW, while others are being built that will have several hundred MW each. There are already more than 600,000 photovoltaic installations installed on private properties across the country.

The development of green technologies is not just a task for large companies and corporations. We all have a responsibility to ensure that we leave a greener and more liveable planet for future generations. It is worth noting that many young innovators, also in Poland, understand this epochal challenge and obligation. They are already creating revolutionary solutions that can help us reduce our carbon footprint or save local fauna and flora. The Huawei Startup Challenge, a competition for Polish startups, showed that the potential of Polish innovation is huge. The competition received nearly 230 entries for pro-ecological solutions. The jury selected the final ten finalists, and among them – the winning three. The first place and the main prize of PLN 100 000 went to the start-up Dynamic Air Cooling (DAC), which is working on an innovative cooling technology. Another start-up, meanwhile, is developing roof tiles integrated with a photovoltaic panel. Elon Musk’s Tesla is developing similar technology, but we may have created something much better here in Poland.

The Huawei Startup Challenge competition has become a kind of magnifying glass for us, which has confirmed our belief that, thanks to young Polish innovators, we have a great opportunity to build a Green Innovation Valley in Poland. The key to success, however, is the cooperation of young start-ups with big business, as it is only through the power of synergy that start-ups can get a huge dose of knowledge, inspiration, funding and international exposure. And it is a very important commitment for us to stand in the front line as inspirers, mentors and real support for Polish innovators.