Five innovative environmental projects, such as one transforming heat from cement factories into electricity, were rewarded by the British prince.
Prince William on Wednesday in Cape Town rewarded five innovative environmental projects, such as one transforming the heat of cement factories into electricity or another manufacturing solar-powered electric coolers, on the occasion of the fourth edition of his Earthshot Prize.
Five initiatives received one million pounds (1.2 M EUR) for the fourth edition of this prize, organized this year in South Africa. “This continent, while it is the one contributing the least to global warming, is the most vulnerable,” recalled the Prince of Wales after greeting the public in particular in Zulu and Sesotho.
In addition to the prince, the jury was made up, among others, of the actress Cate Blanchett, the former CEO of the PepsiCo group Indra Nooyi and the Nigerian director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Among the winners is the American company ATS, whose extremely compact thermovoltaic panels can be used to convert heat produced in the cement or steel industry into electricity.
Building a better world
Innovation is the fruit of serendipity: its creators were developing solar panels when they realized that their panels produced current without solar rays, deciding to reorient themselves towards thermovoltaics.
“We are here to support dreamers, thinkers and innovators from all backgrounds who share the ambition to build a better, more sustainable world,” Prince William said.
Another successful project, the Kenyan company Keep IT Cool (KIC) produces solar-powered electric coolers for fishermen. They make it possible to maintain the cold chain, even far from the electricity network, and therefore to greatly reduce food waste while supporting the income of fishermen.
