Here are four startups that promise to change the way energy flows into our homes and businesses, starting with Celtic Renewables.

Celtic Renewables

Celtic Renewables is an Edinburgh-based biotech startup that uses by-products from manufacturing scotch whiskey in order to create renewable energy.

This renewable energy comes in the form of sustainable biofuel and renewable chemicals and both are low-carbon solutions that can one day replace traditional fossil fuels.

The company showed the potential of its product in 2017, when the team used the biofuel to drive a Ford Focus around the Napier University Campus.

Celtic Renewables officials say that the biofuel can replace regular fossil fuels without the need to modify a car's engine.

As a fun fact, among the company's board of management sits Ekko, the Chief Morale Officer of the company.

He is a dog that was rescued from the streets of Romania and brought to Scotland, where he joined the team at Celtic Renewables and is in charge of, well, keeping the teammates morale high.

Proton Technologies

Proton Technologies is a Canada-based company that aims to change the way we obtain clean hydrogen.

The team of researchers developed a new system called Hygenerator that can be used in order to extract hydrogen from underground fossil-fuel deposits with a net-zero carbon footprint.

Founded in Calgary in 2015, Proton Technologies provides one of the most cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solution for clean hydrogen extraction.

As a result of developing these technologies, the company was able to secure customers such as Clear Hydrogen UK, which acquired a license of Proton's Hygenerator that helps it make some five thousand tons of hydrogen daily.

Renewable power, an essential tool for the energy transition - Enernet Global

Another company that wants to make a contribution to the global energy sector is New York-based Enernet Global.

The company is specialized in building microgrids for various areas and communities that can take advantage of solar or wind power.

The company's secret is the fact that they carefully look into the geographical features of each area to figure out which natural resource it can exploit the most.

This way, the team can offer customers the best kind of renewable energy solution according to their needs.

Founded in 2015, the company has now acquired customers in various areas of the world, including the sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia and Australia and has renewable projects that total to 130 MW.

Enernet Global offers its services to communities living in remote areas and also to corporate customers, such as farmers, mining companies and tourist operators.

Siqens

Siqens GmbH is a German biotech startup founded in 2012 and that won the f-cell award due to the company's extensive research in the field of hydrogen and fuel cell technology.

The startup's mission is offering a reliable source of energy to communities around the world that don't have easy access to it.

In fact, as many as 1.3 billion people around the world, according to Siqens, struggle with access to electricity and have to resort to carbon-emitting resources such as fossil fuels for power generation.

To combat the use of traditional gasoline and diesel-powered generators, the team at Siqens developed a methanol-based battery that is able to more efficiently transform the fossil fuels into electricity.

To maximize efficiency, the company combines whatever natural resource is available for renewable harvesting, such as solar or wind power, with its methanol-based battery, to enhance energy production.

This way, the company is able to help communities reduce fuel cost by 70% and to eliminate carbon-emissions associated with using a diesel or gasoline-powered generators.