IBM

If you think IT and sustainability are two totally different worlds, think again.

Most of what is referred to as “smart” these days — smart transportation, the smart grid and smart cities, for example — is made intelligent by processors, sensors and analytical software, and of course the servers that make it all possible. So it’s not surprising to see tech giants like IBM wanting to create a smarter planet, Cisco wanting to craft smart tech solutions for utilities and companies, and plenty of other, smaller companies wanting a piece of the action.

But while the money and hoopla surrounding all things smart can cloud the issue a bit, the point is that infrastructure in this country is sorely in need of an overhaul. In its Smarter Cities Virtual Leader Forum today, IBM recapped what it’s doing to make education, transportation, government, energy and healthcare smarter. It sees cities as systems of systems.

The solar efficiency problem may be solved, not by some amazing new material, but by existing and surprisingly cheap components.

Such were the findings of IBM researchers who recently achieved 9.6 percent efficiency with cells made from copper, tin, zinc, sulfur and/or selenium.

The efficiency of any solar cell refers to its photoelectric conversion rate; in other words, its ability to convert sunlight into electricity. While higher efficiency rates have been posted in the solar world (the highest so far is a 19.3 percent efficiency announced by Mitsubishi today), the IBM cell set a record for solar cells made with such low-cost and readily available materials.

Talk of the smartening up various things — the electrical grid, buildings, transportation and water systems — often wanders quickly into abstract ideas of a super-wired Jetsons-style future.

But at its core, the idea of making the various systems cities rely on smarter is not actually all that new or futuristic. Companies have been using software and sensors to manage their major assets for years, and now cities are getting in on it.

“Typically, the systems in place in cities are siloed solutions — you’ve got the police department, the transit authority, the parks and rec department and so on — so information is not easily shared,” Bill Sawyer, IBM's vice president of Maximo Operations, told SolveClimate.

“By putting in one system on one platform, they can eliminate a lot of inefficiencies.

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Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency is launching a nationwide “smart water” program to monitor one of the world's most important resources. Powered by IBM, the program will use a network of smart sensors, wireless transmitters, and analytic software to continuously monitor and manage water quality along the country’s coastline and in swimmable lakes and rivers.

It’s all part of the European Union’s Bathing Water Directive, which on its face may seem like a simple move to preserve beaches for tourists, but is actually a huge first step in the world’s next big climate-change-related resource battle.

The directive — part of the EU’s Water Framework Directive, which calls for the protection of all water sources — mandates that the water quality in “bathing areas,” that is beaches, lakes, and rivers where people swim, be not only constantly monitored but also managed.

These things were being monitored before, but, much in the same way as it is in other countries that monitor such things, that monitoring was traditionally conducted by teams of scientists who would go to the water source, take samples, analyze it and eventually produce water quality reports.

Using IBM’s technology, the Irish EPA is able to continuously monitor and, more importantly, quickly respond to changes in tides, bacteria counts and weather throughout the country.

“Everything from where rain falls to the chemical makeup of the oceans is in flux, and it continues to change in real time,” explains Sharon Nunes, vice president of Big Green Innovations at IBM. “By providing near-real-time access to water conditions, we’re enabling environmental agencies and citizens alike to make smarter decisions.”

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Despite the buzz surrounding the smart grid, to date it has consisted of technologies or services geared toward utilities, helping them save money, smooth out supply-and-demand curves, and use energy more efficiently.

Now, with a clear soft spot from the federal government for all things smart grid, investors and start-ups are turning to new opportunities in the market, namely products and services focused on consumers and corporate clients.

While energy management and demand response systems are already beginning to reap rewards for companies with large office buildings and data centers, the consumer market has remained largely untapped, save a few pilot studies.

Matt Denesuk, partner with IBM Venture Capital Group, sees that changing in the year ahead.

Denesuk’s group partners with venture capitalists to offer expertise and product partnerships to start-ups seen as key to IBM’s business; companies picked by the group typically wind up either being acquired by IBM or developing long-term partnerships with the tech giant.

We spoke with Denesuk to find out which companies and technologies we might see Big Blue championing in the not-so-distant future. Here's who he named:

Watch the business pages this week, and you'll see technology giants like Google, Microsoft and IBM tripping over each other to announce their latest "smart" technology for tracking energy and emissions from businesses and homes.

Their timing is as smart as the technology they hope to sell. The economic stimulus package that won approval in the Senate today includes $4.5 billion for “smart” grid technology and billions more for energy efficiency.

Computer chip giant IBM snagged another deal in its quest to fast-track adoption of its "smart grid" technologies -- a $90 million plan to digitize the national grid in the Mediterranean island nation of Malta.

The five-year effort will turn Malta into the first nation in the world with universal implementation of smart electric and water meters. It will also give IBM an international showcase for its smart grid capabilities.

"We see the Smart Grid as a critical enabler for economic growth on a global scale and it's inspiring to see Malta take such a strong leadership position," said Guido Bartels, General Manager Global Energy & Utilities Industry at IBM.

According to its press release, IBM will work with Malta national utilities -- Enemalta Corp. and Water Services Corp -- to replace all 250,000 analog electricity meters with new smart electronic devices. When complete, the project "will completely transform the relationship between Maltese consumers and utilities suppliers, while enabling more efficient consumption of energy and water," said IBM.