#64 The AI-powered wildfire detector that will save economies billions

The Better Business Show

We are back, back, back.

Yes, welcome back to the Better Business Show. Episode 64 has been a long time coming.

A lot has changed since we first launched back in 2016, almost nine years ago.

But lots hasn’t changed either. Solving the climate crisis remains the most urgent challenge of our times. And storytelling is more important than ever.

The premise of this podcast remains the same as it’s always been. This is the place to come for insight, inspiration, and practical examples of the organizations that are proving there is another way, that there is an alternative, low-carbon future, that there is a better, zero waste model for business, that they can be resilient in the face of the climate crisis, that they can be successful without destroying the planet or letting people down.

We restart the show this time with an awesome story from Carsten Brinkschulte. He is the CEO of Dryad Networks, a business that wants to make it really easy to detect wildfires. Forget satellites and GPS trackers, he wants to install millions of sensors on the ground that can sniff out a fire in much the same way humans can – and he’s well on his way of making it happen too.

2024 has been another year of rampant wildfires all over the planet. Every year, 370 million hectares of land burns, releasing 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – that’s around 20% of all GHGs.

The conversation is wide-ranging, as Tom chats to Carsten about his innovative solutions for early wildfire detection using AI and gas sensor technology, the challenges of deploying these systems in remote areas, and the potential for expanding applications of this technology. Carsten also shares valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the climate tech space, emphasising the importance of viable business models and quantifying impact.