IB Design Technology 8.4 Sustainable Innovation Questionbank

Elon Musk, see Figure 1, is an entrepreneur, engineer, innovator and the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tesla. This company is attempting to design and manufacture products that promote sustainable consumption.

The Tesla Powerwall 2 is a lithium-ion battery pack that can be attached to the wall and provides electricity for household use. Electricity is generated by solar panels, see Figure 2, that are connected to the Powerwall 2. When there is no sunlight the electricity stored in the Powerwall 2 can be used to provide the electricity to run lighting or appliances.

The Powerwall 2 is a product that is entering the market and has the potential to ease the world’s transition into the use of sustainable energy.

The table below outlines two distinct approaches for achieving sustainable innovation.

A new public refill system is being funded by the local council to reduce single-use plastic waste from bottled drinks. The proposed product is a solar-powered smart refill station that dispenses still or sparkling water into reusable bottles.

The manufacturer claims the station is an example of sustainable innovation because it:

• replaces purchase-and-dispose behaviour with reuse
• uses recycled aluminium panels and a modular internal frame
• logs filter status and energy use so maintenance can be scheduled

Early pilot testing found two problems:

1. In hot weather, the internal battery and power electronics can overheat inside the sealed enclosure.
2. Some stations are being removed from service because maintenance teams struggle to access internal components quickly.

A simplified layout of the station’s internal modules is shown below.

The designer proposes a revised internal arrangement using a slide-out cassette that groups the battery, charge controller, and power electronics into a removable module, and a separate , shown below.

Soar Electric Scooter Rental

“Scooter sharing” has become popular in cities all over the world. E-scooters are being promoted as a sustainable mode of transport by providing an alternative to cars. One e-scooter company, Soar, offers e-scooters in several cities that can be easily rented via a smartphone app. A rider uses the Soar app to locate the nearest e-scooter, see Figure 1.

Figure 1: A representation of the Soar smartphone app

Soar purchased their first-generation e-scooters from manufacturer Xiomani for US$550 each. To break even an e-scooter needs to be used five times a day for five months. As the Soar smartphone app tracks battery charge, location and usage, it was found that many of these Xiomani scooters were lasting less than two months. Many were simply discarded, see Figure 2.

Figure 2: Discarded e-scooters

A developed nation reports that over a ten-year period, its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by $15\%$, while its total greenhouse gas emissions fell by $2\%$.

Which of the following concepts is demonstrated by this data?