IFA Berlin Recap Part 1: Diverse Approaches To Sustainability

A big tech trade show in Berlin showed off a mix of home-related products, most still overseas or not yet on the market. A Slovenia-based startup called Valentin has built a compact unit that fits under a kitchen sink to separate fats and food waste from what goes down the drain. It dries the organic matter into fertilizer you empty every few weeks and collects oils for disposal every few months, cutting down on clogged pipes and reducing the methane that food waste creates at sewage plants. There's no release date or price mentioned yet.

For yard work, a company called Yarbo showed rugged robotic mowers meant to run almost continuously rather than just as a convenience gadget. Its smaller "M series" machines can each cover about 1.5 acres a day and are aimed at properties up to a few acres, working through leaf cleanup and snow removal with add-on attachments. Battery maker Jackery, known for portable power stations and solar generators, introduced a new safety system for its batteries and showed smaller, lighter versions of its portable power stations, along with a large 100 kWh home or farm-sized battery system and an emergency-ready battery aimed at power outages.

None of this is available for purchase yet or tied to any rebate program. It's a preview of products that may eventually reach store shelves, giving a sense of where kitchen, yard, and home battery technology could be headed.