ARE WE READY?

I talked about that the world needs to prepare for disasters before.

We have already a disaster on our hands and it could quickly become much worse. The Russian invasion into Ukraine created a massive flow of people, mostly women and children, looking for safety. The refugee crisis is not new for the world, but this time this is inside Europe. Europe is not prepared for this even after the Middle East refugee crisis several years ago. 

Ukraine and countries accepting refugees, need a lot of shelters, together with infrastructure, first of all heating, water, including hot water and sanitation.

Autonomous Mobile Energy System (AMES) can be a hub of such infrastructure. 

The AMES module fits in a standard 20 foot shipping container, can be delivered to any geographical location in the world, rapidly deployed and almost immediately start providing clean energy, especially heat, with no need for any fuel or connection to the power grid.

In the integrated camp infrastructure, the AMES can absorb heat released by the solid waste process module - incineration, gassification or pyrolysis - and store it in the built-in thermal energy storage with phase-change material (PCM). This heat can be used for heating of the camp shelters and providing hot water for the camp use as well as for the medical needs. It can also be used to preheat inflow of waste water to increase efficiency of the water treatment unit, which will provide potable water for the camp and reduce the need for external supply of water.    

This solution is currently getting ready to be tested for the Canadian Armed Forces relocatable temporary camp. Together with the partners, Ascent is planning to participate in the DND Camp Sustain Program.  

We are partnering with AdvanTec Global Innovations in manufacturing the AMES module in Canada.

We have access to manufacturing facilities in Poland and Lithuania at scale for quick delivery to any place in Europe or elsewhere.

For any inquiries please contact directly: ascent@ascentsystems.ca

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P.S. Putin ordered to put Russian nuclear forces on high alert. Are we ready?

Preparing for Disasters

 

NASA reports:

In 2021, Hurricane Ida left over 1 million people without power, tornadoes tore across the American Midwest, volcanoes forced people to evacuate their homes, wildfires covered the American West and unusual flooding wreaked havoc on Central Europe.

Some characteristics of natural hazards, such as hurricanes, floods and wildfires, have been historically predictable and have informed disaster preparation. However, with human emissions of greenhouse gases increasing Earth’s temperature, we’re seeing changes in those characteristics: wildfire and drought seasons are lengthening, hurricanes and rainfall are becoming more intense, and coastal flooding is increasing.

The Economist:

As the threat from natural hazards grows, from climate change-fueled fires to zoonotic pandemics, the world must live with more risk. The countries that fare best will be the resilient ones. In “The Resilient Society”, Markus Brunnermeier, an economist from Princeton University, argues that “Resilience can serve as the guiding North Star for designing a post-covid-19 society.”

Japan is a “department store of natural hazards”, says Nishiguchi Hiro of Japan Bosai Platform, a group of firms that develop disaster-related technologies. Few countries have been shaped so much by hazards and disasters. Besides earthquakes and tsunamis, there are typhoons, floods, landslides and volcanic eruptions. Japan has had to learn to live with risks, making it a laboratory for resilient societies. “The concept of resilience is key to what others can learn from Japan,” says Rajib Shaw, a disaster expert at Keio University in Fujisawa.

New York Magazine:

The biggest lesson is the value of preparation. It’s too late if you start acting after the disaster happens. That this sounds banal in much of the world makes its absence more striking. Of $137bn provided in global disaster-related development assistance from 2005 to 2017, 96% was spent on emergency response and reconstruction, less than 4% on disaster preparedness.

Preparedness usually involves building a more solid and resilient infrastructure. Still, in every physical science discipline they have a similar quote within their field. In hydrology, it’s “water finds a way”. In Jurassic Park, it’s “life finds a way.” In the fire community, it’s “fire finds a way.”

 

On Thursday afternoon, December 30, 2021  in the space of a few hours just a day before the new year, 100-plus mile-per-hour winds carried the most destructive fire in Colorado history through the suburban sprawl of greater Denver, destroying much of the towns of Louisville and Superior and forcing tens of thousands to flee, including many who’d entered shopping malls from sunny skies just a few minutes before. As many as 1,000 homes were destroyed. Three people currently remain missing; if the death count stays at zero, Colorado governor Jared Polis said Friday, it would be “a New Year’s miracle.”

Ascent Systems Technologies:

To be resilient, the infrastructure should be distributed and decentralized. Or, to begin with, there should be distributed and decentralized backup options for energy, water and other human needs in case a disaster strikes.

Autonomous Mobile Energy System (AMES) module can be delivered to the site of disaster in hours, deployed in minutes and start generating energy with no fuel or connection to a power grid required. The module can sense when the external conditions become dangerous to operate and would automatically retract into a “turtle” mode and deploy again when the conditions are safe again. It could withstand recent tornadoes in Kentucky and provide energy while the permanent infrastructure is being restored. In many situations, such as providing energy to field hospitals, it would save human lives.