It’s a new year. Leaders in most countries have given their citizens a greeting with wishes for a happy new year while trying to highlight important agenda topics. We hear climate as a theme going on many places. There is no doubt that we have seen in 2018 that acting on how to deal with issues using technology to achieve better results have begun. The Danish politician Jan E. Jørgensen wrote in his book “A true liberal” that as a politician you must look forward and use technology to reach ambitious goals. We believe that helping the climate and the environment becomes a much more interesting task when you add technology and forward thinking to the equation.

A lot happened for Photocatalysis in 2018. For the first year in a long time the member list in photocatalytic associations showed growth in number of active companies. Furthermore, interest in using photocatalysis in cities such as Frederiksberg and Copenhagen were formalized. We also saw a visit from Professor Fujishima from Japan to Denmark. No doubt that in the world of photocatalysis, Japan is the number one nation. No other nation even come close to this leading nation which has a widespread implementation of the technology.

We at Photocat are going full speed to increase the awareness for this fantastic technology in Europe which we believe will radically change our cities for the better. We will continue to work collaboratively with our clients, partners and cities and look forward to giving you a sneak peek at the progress.

An indoor environment with our technology integrated in its surface enables a natural photocatalytic process to take place when exposed to daylight or indoor light. This allows harmful emissions and unpleasant odors to be broken down, in turn improving indoor air quality and letting everyone breathe fresher air. The technology is acknowledged worldwide as both highly innovative, environmental and sustainable. We look forward to seeing the technology incoporated in more products during 2019.



For more information on what we can do for you and your company. Call or write to either Henrik Sarfelt (Sales Director) or Michael (CEO) at telephone +45 7022 5055. You can also send an email to Henrik at: hs@photocat.net.

The latest brochure and technology walkthrough by our partner,  Välinge Innovation AB, can be found here

The Danish government has called on the European Commission to develop new rules for members states after its testing revealed that lorries equipped with widely available cheating devices have up to 45 times higher NOx emissions than those with properly functioning cleaning system. Cheating usually occurs when electronic emulator devices are used to disconnect the engine emission reduction system.

"Far more roadside inspections are needed. Data suggests that more than one third of trucks are cheating, often by adding devices to trick the engine control system that NOx  abatement fluid has been added. A stronger EU abatement response is definitely needed." sais James Nix at Transport & Environment.



In cities like London, Berlin and Stockholm trucks contribute to around 50 % of the NOx level. We are 100 % for a strong response from the EU towards cheating truckers. The case however also highlights the difficulty of implementing change through a segment which holds a clear monetary incentive to work around legislation. Photocatalytic surfaces can be controlled by government from end-to-end and is a cost effective method of improving air quality in cities. 

Source: Ends Europe Daily, 14 Nov 2018

Every day around 93% of the world’s children under the age of 15 years (1.8 billion children) breathe air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk. Tragically, many of them die: WHO estimates that in 2016, 600,000 children died from acute lower respiratory infections caused by polluted air.
 

A new WHO report on Air pollution and child health: Prescribing clean air examines the heavy toll of both ambient (outside) and household air pollution on the health of the world’s children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. The report is being launched on the eve of WHO’s first ever Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health. 
 

It reveals that when pregnant women are exposed to polluted air, they are more likely to give birth prematurely, and have small, low birth-weight children. Air pollution also impacts neurodevelopment and cognitive ability and can trigger asthma, and childhood cancer. Children who have been exposed to high levels of air pollution may be at greater risk for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease later in life.

 

Read the full article here