BBC – Enapter Announced Earthshot Prize #FixOurClimate Winner

The annual awards were created by the Duke of Cambridge to reward people trying to save the planet.

October 18, 2021

There were five winners announced in London, each receiving £1m.

Prince William was joined by stars including Emma Watson, Dame Emma Thompson and David Oyelowo for the ceremony at Alexandra Palace.

Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and KSI were among the acts that performed – and in keeping with the eco message, the music was powered by 60 cyclists pedalling on bikes.

No celebrities flew to London for the ceremony, no plastic was used to build the stage and guests were asked to “consider the environment” when choosing an outfit – with Watson wearing a dress made from 10 different dresses from Oxfam.

The winners

Protect and Restore Nature:

  • The Republic of Costa Rica: Costa Rica was a country that once cleared most of its forests, but it has now doubled the number of trees and is seen as a role model for others to follow. The winning project is a scheme paying local citizens to restore natural ecosystems that has led to a revival of the rainforest

Clean our Air:

  • Takachar, India: A portable machine created to turn agricultural waste into fertiliser so that farmers do not burn their fields and cause air pollution

Revive our Oceans:

  • Coral Vita, Bahamas: A project run by two best friends who are growing coral in the Bahamas, designed to restore the world’s dying coral reefs. Using special tanks, they have developed a way to grow coral up to 50 times faster than they normally take in nature

Build a Waste-Free World:

  • The City of Milan Food Waste Hubs, Italy: Another challenge is waste – and the city of Milan in Italy wins a prize for collecting unused food and giving it to people who need it most. The initiative has dramatically cut waste while tackling hunger

Fix our Climate:

  • AEM Electrolyser, Thailand/Germany/Italy: A clever design in Thailand using renewable energy to make hydrogen by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen is a clean gas but it is usually produced by burning fossil fuels

Read the full article here.

BBC Radio 4 Interview

Vaitea was also interviewed by BBC Radio 4 “Today” on the need for green hydrogen over any other colour, making AEM Electrolysers as simple to use and deploy as possible, and moving to their mass production.

Listen to the interview here (segment starts at 2:26:04)

You can also watch the highlights of the award ceremony here and listen to Chhavi Sachdev announce the winners of the inaugural prize and discusses how smart ideas from individual innovators and small companies can influence the upcoming climate debate at COP26 in Glasgow here.