We are in an era when daunting technical problems and trend lines that look catastrophic are being rapidly addressed by engineering solutions that might not have been obvious just a few years ago.
The continuing confluence of tech advances, that synergize and amplify each other, can, as in this example, radically simplify a once intractable problem.
One of the biggest obstacles to deploying more renewables has been a lack of transmission capacity to bring solar and wind, often produced in remote areas, to centers of demand.
Building new transmission lines is difficult, hard to permit, expensive, and takes years in the best case. But what if you could get existing lines to carry more power?
In this case, unlocking massive new capacity on existing transmission grids was waiting for:
• Better, more durable sensors.
• Reliable drone operation|
• Climate pressures make compelling economics
• Software able to process more complex data
Time Magazine – Best Inventions of 2025:
Virtually none of the world’s high voltage powerlines have sensors—they operate based on conservative estimates about safe capacity and run below their true peak capability. So Heimdall Power developed the Neuron, its “magic ball.” The round device attaches to power lines to measure conditions affecting capacity (temperature is key) and calculate how much current the line can actually carry, making for more efficient use and improving the safety and reliability of power transmission. It’s already in use in Europe, and an August analysis of the first year of Heimdall’s first big U.S. project in Minnesota found Neurons increased transmission capacity 63% at peak demand and would save an estimated $3 millio
https://www.heimdallpower.com/