(London, UK) – The first five winners of the Earthshot Prize were announced in London on Sunday evening. Each will receive a prize of one million pounds (1,18 million euros) and access to a global network to further disseminate their innovative environmental solutions. The prizes were awarded in five categories, with the winners selected for their groundbreaking solutions to the planet's greatest environmental challenges.
Enapter – “Fix the climate”
The AEM electrolyser developed by Enapter was recognized in the “Fix Our Climate” category. The technology is already used in more than 40 countries. “Winning the Earthshot Prize is recognition that we are on the right track,” said Vaitea Cowan, co-founder of Enapter. The prize money will help scale mass production, grow the team faster and fund further research and development.
Vaitea Cowan, born on an island in the South Pacific affected by climate change, said great progress has been made in renewable energy. “With 30 percent of our energy already coming from renewable sources, we need to focus on the remaining 70 percent: non-renewable energy that powers everything from industry to transportation.”
About four weeks ago, Enapter AG began construction of its mass production facility for electrolyzers. An "Enapter Campus" is being built on 82.000 square meters in Saerbeck, North Rhine-Westphalia, 30 kilometers north of Münster . As previously reported, the company plans to produce 10.000 AEM (Anion Exchange Membrane) electrolyzers per month there starting in 2023. The site will be powered entirely by renewable energy from Saerbeck's solar, wind, and biomass plants, as well as from the company's own solar panels and hydrogen storage facilities. Enapter has subsidiaries in Italy, Germany, Thailand, and Russia.
Costa Rica – “Protect and restore nature”
In the 1990s, Costa Rica's forests were reduced by half. The government introduced programs to pay citizens to plant and protect trees and restore ecosystems. Since then, the size of the forests has doubled, and flora and fauna have thrived. This led to an ecotourism boom that contributed $30 billion to the economy. The government now wants to expand these programs to urban areas. This could protect XNUMX percent of the land and oceans. Winning the Earthshot Protect and Restore Nature Wilderness Prize would help the Government of Costa Rica share these ideas, knowledge and practices with other countries, particularly in the Global South.
Takachar – “Cleaning our air”
What Indian farmers cannot sell, they often burn. This causes air pollution in the fields around New Delhi, reducing life expectancy in some areas by a decade. Indian Vidyut Mohan and his company Takachar have developed cheap, small, portable technology that can be attached to tractors. The machine converts crop residues into salable organic products, such as fertilizer. Takachar's technology reduces smoke emissions by up to 98 percent. If implemented on a larger scale, this solution could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by one billion tons per year, according to the project description. By winning the Earthshot Award in the Clean our Air category, Takachar aims to expand its operations to more rural communities around the world.
Coral Vita – “Revive the Oceans”
The Bahamas organization Coral Vitas has come up with an approach that involves growing corals on land and then planting them in the sea. This allows corals to grow up to 50 times faster than conventional methods and improves their resilience to the effects of climate change. Winning the Earthshot Revive our Oceans Prize will be used to build a global network of farms to grow one billion corals every year.
Milan – “Building a waste-free world”
Milan's Food Waste Hub program collects food from local supermarkets and restaurants and distributes it to citizens in need. Around 130 tons of food would be recovered annually, which is estimated to be equivalent to 260.000 meals. By winning the Earthshot Prize in the “Build a Waste-free World” category, the city of Milan’s model can be expanded to other cities.
750 suggestions from all over the world
Established by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Royal Foundation, the award aims to "mobilize collective action to drive global innovation and problem-solving and save the planet within the next decade." 
The award ceremony marked the conclusion of a 10-month search with over 750 applications from around the world. The 15 finalists were selected with the support of consulting experts. The Earthshot Prize Council includes Prince William, Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Sir David Attenborough, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Indra Nooyi, Shakira Mebarak, Christiana Figueres, Luisa Neubauer, Cate Blanchett, Yao Ming, Daniel Alves Da Silva, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Jack Ma and Naoko Yamazaki.
All 15 finalists will receive support from the Earthshot Prize Global Alliance, a network of philanthropists, non-governmental organizations and private companies around the world to help them spread their ideas and products.
The next Earthshot Prize will be awarded in the United States in 2022. The nominations will be made public in January.
deep link
https://earthshotprize.org
Photos
Group photo with Vaitea Cowan (2nd from left), co-founder of Enapter, and co-founder Sebastian-Justus Schmidt (to the right) © Enapter AG
Photo middle
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge © Earthshot
