German Startup Uses Moss to Cool Cities

Beating the heat – that’s become the imperative for many places in the northern hemisphere this summer. Start-up Green City Solutions from the eastern regional state of Brandenburg has come up with an interesting way to cool off urban areas.

The company’s Citytree doesn’t really look like a tree. It’s more like a round bench topped a vertical rectangle in which moss grows. The moss filters fine dust particles from the surrounding air, lowering temperatures. The company’s motto is “We grow fresh air.”

“We have to look to nature to combat city problems,” Green City Solutions co-founder Peter Sänger , himself a gardener, told the internet portal Gründerszene. “Moss is a partner that’s very, very easy to work with. As an organism, it’s perfect for helping to solve climate problems in cities.”

But Sänger’s solution is also about high-tech in addition to nature, combining its living filter with an intelligent ventilation and watering system and an IoT interface.

Citytrees have already been installed in Cork, Irland, Hereford, UK and various locations in Germany.