— Written by Lyle Jarvis

Breakthrough Innovation 📈

X, The Moonshot Factory, exists to generate serious positive change. Comprised by a team of scientific and technological innovators, they're tackling complex issues like resource scarcity, climate resilience and more. Their approach is supercharged by A.I. and machine learning, which have proven themselves to be crucial in powering moonshot progress.

X recently launched a hot new podcast for a closer look behind the scenes into some of their most fascinating projects. Check out the trailer here (made by yours truly).

Moonshot’s Climate Projects 🌏️ 

Read on to find out how the team’s at X are bringing expansive thinking to some of the biggest issues in climate.

Overhauling Recycling ♻️ 

Project: Circularity Moonshot | 🎧 Podcast Episode Link

Our waste management systems need a refresh, plain and simple. In fact, studies suggest by 2050, we’ll create 3.8 billion tons of trash per year, up 73% from 2020! Not to mention producing this plastic is highly carbon intensive – accounting for 11% of the world’s oil demand.

Traditional waste systems were built for simple materials like cardboard and glass. Modern plastic packaging, made from layered polymers and additives, has left those systems behind – creating huge problems for recycling efforts. To solve this, the Circularity Moonshot team gave waste processing a modern makeover, by developing advanced sensors and A.I. models to analyze and identify the molecular composition of plastic waste in real time.

This isn’t just sorting by shape or color—it’s AI-powered chemistry. The system scans thousands of pieces of packaging every minute, using spectrometry and sensor fusion to detect difficult materials, like black plastics. With millions of data points, Moonshot’s technology is sorting plastics faster and more accurately than ever before. The goal? Creating a future where every piece of waste can be understood, reused, and reimagined—right down to its molecular building blocks.

Moonshot is also leading the charge with molecular recycling -- breaking down waste at a molecular level, then transforming it into reusable resources. We did a deep dive on this project last year in Where the Internet Lives (check it out here!).

A Crystal Ball for Nature 🔮 

Project: Bellwether | 🎧 Podcast Episode Link

In a changing climate, predicting weather patterns is more difficult than ever. To better anticipate when disasters might strike, we need to use every technological lever to rethink our modeling. Using A.I. and ML can help provide more accurate, timely predictions, in turn helping us make more informed decisions on planning for, handling and recovering from natural disasters. Their work focuses on three key areas: wildfire risk modeling and mitigation tools, insurance for natural disasters, and scene assessment tools to support first responders.

Insurance companies, grappling to keep up with a more unpredictable climate, are also using Bellwether to better understand the damage caused by natural disasters.

Growing Knowledge 🥬

Project: Mineral | 🎧 Podcast Episode Link

To feed the planet's growing population, we'll need to produce more food in the next 50 years than in the previous 10,000 combined. Not to mention, climate change is impacting the productivity of our crops. The Mineral team aimed to solve this problem by  developing tools that would help create the world's first detailed "operating manual" for plants.

First, their Mineral rover rolls through fields, capturing high-quality images of each plant. Then, through a mix of new software and hardware technologies, they combine the imagery with other datasets like weather data, and soil information. This gives the team (and subsequent farmers) a more detailed, comprehensive understanding of their field. Using machine learning, they can identify patterns and gain valuable insights into plant growth!

Celebrating Creative Solutions 💡

At Pique, we celebrate creativity in problem solving, and making things for a healthier life. Moonshot innovations come by way of expansive thinking, and we'll need all we can get to tackle some of the world’s largest challenges. 

By leveraging advanced technologies like AI and ML, we'll be keeping our eye on moonshot solutions (and cheering them on) toward climate progress. 

Have some thorny problems you need to solve? Moonshots! Is a game X designed to unlock your “moonshot mindset” – a pathway to more expansive thinking and a great way to gear up for a brainstorming session. And for more about expansive thinking, check out this article.

👀 Some Stories You Might Have Missed This Week 🗞️📺

1. Clean energy just put China’s CO2 emissions into a historic reverse (Carbon Brief)

2. Sixteen U.S. states sued the federal government last week for illegally withholding billions in funds for electric charging stations (Reuters)

3. A battery startup in Massachusetts built and road-tested a solid state battery, taking a huge stride toward making EVs cheaper, safer, and longer lasting than gas-powered cars. (NY Times)

📅 Community Announcement 🎬 🍿🎥

We’re thrilled to announce that we are a proud sponsor of this year’s Hollywood Climate Summit! This annual gathering brings together people working across entertainment, media, and advocacy to explore how storytelling can drive meaningful climate action. Hosted in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Summit convenes over 3,000 entertainment and media professionals from 65+ countries, both in person in Los Angeles and online.Together, we’re proud to support action towards a healthier planet!

📅 June 2nd - 4th, 2025
🎟️ Get your tickets here!
ℹ️ And check out this link to learn more about the summit!