the heat is on

Europe is living through its most severe heatwave on record. France just logged its hottest day since measurements began in 1947, and the World Health Organization has already tied thousands of excess deaths to the past two weeks alone. The same pattern is heading for the US and eastern Canada. This isn't another article professing the negative impacts of climate change, no one wants to read (or write) that. So what's needed, and what's available?

Cooling that doesn't break the bank or the grid. Air conditioning is the obvious answer and the wrong one if it's inefficient. The winning versions are efficient by design: heat pumps that cool as well as they heat (Jetson), smart controls that cut HVAC waste and shift load off peak (Flair, Optiwatt) and refrigeration intelligence that keeps systems running when it matters most (GlacierGrid).

A grid that holds when everyone turns on the AC. Extreme heat drives record peak demand exactly when thermal plants strain to deliver. Keeping the lights on means faster interconnection and smarter operation (PIQ Energy, ThinkLabs) plus more renewable production (King Energy, Rodatherm) plus flexible load and storage to shave the peak (EnPowered).

Food and water that survive the heat. Hotter means drought stress, lower yields and crop failure. We have invested in drought-resilient crop quality (Clean Crop), precision irrigation that grows more with less water (Lumo) and farm intelligence that manages climate risk in real time (Agrology), plus water systems that treat and reuse every drop (Aquacycl).

The common thread across these realities are physical supply constraints rooted in sustainable production and consumption. What’s needed is more energy, more materials, food and water with less waste, produced closer to home and at lower cost.

That is exactly what the Active Impact climate tech thesis is.