GE made history last year when its wind turbines started producing electricity at America’s first offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island. The landmark project, the first of several planned for the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, launched the country’s push into a powerful source of renewable energy. It also earned GE a spot on Fast Company’s annual list of the 10 most innovative companies in energy in the world.
GE Healthcare also made the magazine’s list of top health innovators. Fast Company recognized it for developing “hardware and software technologies that solve some of the most pressing problems in health care.” For example, GE machine-learning algorithms can help doctors analyze medical images, and the company also assisted Johns Hopkins University with building “a NASA-style command center to better manage patient flow in and around the hospital.”
Fast company started publishing its “most innovative” lists 10 years ago. “Our reporting team sifts through thousands of enterprises each year, searching for those that tap both heartstrings and purse strings and use the engine of commerce to make a difference in the world. Impact is among our key criteria,” the editors wrote.
GE companies have made a number of appearances on the list in the past, and they are planning to stay. Just this year the company’s Oil & Gas business turned the world’s most powerful jet engine into a power plant and started using drones to inspect refineries. Engineers at GE Healthcare turned data from medical scanners into a virtual reality tour of the human body. The tool could help doctors better prepare for surgery one day.