Chernobyl Survivor Turned Renewable Energy Entrepreneur

Going Green had the honor to sit down with Eco Wave Power CEO Inna Braverman to discuss her life story as a Chernobyl survivor turned Renewable Energy Entrepreneur.

How did you get involved in the sustainable industry as a Renewable Energy Entrepreneur?

Wave energy is a personal mission for me as I was born in Ukraine in 1986; just two weeks after I was born the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded, causing the largest nuclear disaster in history. My family lived in a town only 200 miles away from Chernobyl I and was one of the babies that suffered from the negative effects related to the explosion. I had a respiratory arrest and clinical death. Luckily, my mother, a nurse, came to my crib and gave me mouth-to-mouth recitation which saved my life.

I got a second chance in life and wanted to do something good with it. As a result, I decided to devote my life to the development of a clean and safe method of electricity production, via the power of the waves and founded Eco Wave Power (EWP) in 2011 at the age of 24.

What trends are you seeing in your industry?

Prior to the pandemic, more than 800 million people worldwide lacked access to electricity. Billions more have their potential diminished by unreliable or insufficient energy access, predominantly provided by carbon-emitting fuels. The energy accessibility gap has further widened because of the pandemic.

This year alone, more than 100 million people have seen their electricity access severed because they couldn’t pay their bills during the pandemic, with the toll falling disproportionately on the poor and most vulnerable. The World Bank estimates that the combined impact of climate change and the damage done by Covid-19 will push 132 million people into poverty. “There’s no going back to the past, to before-Covid. We need to reimagine the future we want,” said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation. “To meet this moment, we must leverage all our resources and relationships to build an equitable, sustainable future, where everyone has the opportunity to realize their full potential and climate disaster is avoided.

The time to act is right now to make sure vulnerable children and families are included in the pandemic response and recovery.”1 The Rockefeller Foundation committed to invest 1 Billion USD over the next three years to catalyse a more inclusive, green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. Other prominent leaders and organizations also committed to advancing significant and ground-breaking green recovery plans.

For example, The Sustainable Markets Initiative, was launched by HRH Prince Charles of Wales, in response to the increasing threats posed by climate change and biodiversity loss. Eco Wave Power is one of the companies profiled on the Sustainable Market Initiative by HRH Prince of Wales, The World Economic Forum and the Bank of America, showing the rising commitment of global leaders for the implementation of clean and sustainable energy production solutions, to catalyse green recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. This stresses the fact that now more than ever, wave energy is being embraced as a significant part of the green recovery plan.

Here, at Eco Wave Power, we are humbly accepting such embrace, with the understanding that we hold a great responsibility for the future of our plant. According to a study by the European Technology & Innovation Platform for Ocean Energy, which was published on May 2020: “Europe’s ocean energy resource is considerable. By 2050, ocean energy can deliver 100GW of capacity- equivalent to 10% of Europe’s electricity consumption today.

Flexible and predictable, ocean energy complements variable renewables such as wind or solar, that will dominate Europe’s electricity system in 2050. Ocean energy will play an important role in smoothing production peaks and balancing Europe’s electricity grid. By 2050, the ocean energy sector will employ 400,000 Europeans, ensuring a just transition to a decarbonized economy. Europe’s technological advantage in ocean energy will ensure European companies a large share of a strong global market, as they do on offshore wind. With zero carbon emissions, ocean energy will help tackle climate change and achieve a cleaner, more sustainable and more prosperous Europe”.

What is one action item the viewers can take away from this conversation?

That passion is the greatest renewable energy source.

Going Green wants to thank Inna for sharing her journey as a Renewable Energy Entrepreneur.

Going Green, hosted by Dylan Welch, interviews leading experts in cleantech, sustainability, media, finance, and real estate on the Going Green podcast. Tune in and subscribe to the podcast on Apple or Spotify to listen to interviews with leading cleantech and sustainable experts. If you are interested in being featured on Going Green, click HERE.