3M makes a play to secure renewable energy

Prominent technology company 3M has launched a Renewable Energy Division to focus on the energy sector.

The division is composed of two business units – Energy Generation and Energy Management – and has been developed to bundle existing and emerging technologies into a single  entity.

“3M is continuously evaluating mega-trends and how to align with them,” said Energy Management business director Ranjit Thakur. “One such trend was renewable energy. We decided to create a focused division to go after that market space.”

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Thakur described the decision as being about ‘calculated risks’ and ‘making decisions based on data’. There is strong public and commercial demand for improved approaches to energy.

“3M has developed a strong technology base and portfolio [of products] that has been distributed throughout the company,” said Thakur. “Given the mega-trend that is happening in the market, 3M decided to form this division by bundling technology and products together in a focused manner. Our intent was to provide one face for customers, develop a faster response time and develop products that speak to this market.”

The products in question come from the company’s core of tapes, films and adhesives. It hopes that  deployment of these products will enable energy producers to reduce their cost-per-watt, through incremental gains in efficiency. For energy management, the products are targeted at using energy generated more productively.