Clean tech research took the spotlight on April 8 during the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (CET)’s Clean Technology Innovation Prize Competition, held at Barrows Hall. Four teams walked away with a combined $20,000 in prize money and the coveted attention of venture capitalists and industry executives, who served as judges. The competition seeks to recognize clean technology researchers working on applied projects with commercial potential.
The first place team, led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory researcher Craig Jacobson, is producing low-cost fuel cells destined for developing countries. The $10 fuel cells will replace inefficient and polluting kerosene lamps and campfires that are now used to light homes lacking their own electricity. About the size of a short pencil, the cells convert kerosene or other hydrocarbon fuels into electricity that will power an LED light. Homes don’t need to be wired. While there are plenty of fuel cells on the market, the lab’s version is different because it’s so inexpensive and durable. The secret, after 10 years of research, is replacing the cell’s expensive and brittle ceramic layer with cheap stainless steel.
“This next-generation technology leapfrogs having to install a whole power infrastructure,” says Jacobson. “It will help people who really need it, and that’s very motivating. We’ll use our prize [$10,000] as seed money to start a company.” He estimates the potential market to be worth as much as $50 billion.
Judges awarded second place and a $5,000 prize to researchers who are developing sensors that prefer to float down the river, no life jacket needed. CEE Ph.D. student Andrew Tinka, in conjunction with CEE assistant professor Alexandre Bayen, leads a team working on a fleet of “drifters,” GPS-enabled mobile sensors that float through river systems to collect data on pollution, salinity levels and temperature. A bit larger than a can of tennis balls, the sensors are unusual because they are designed to move with the phenomena they’re measuring. The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta region is the project’s first proving ground, where 10 sensors have already made several river journeys.
“There are 1,500 kilometers of rivers and channels in the delta system,” Tinka explains. “It’s very complicated. But with sensors that move with the water, you have a better chance of understanding not only where agricultural runoff enters the system, but also where it goes and to what degree it contaminates.” Other applications include analyzing salt levels in the delta, which provides drinking water to 20 million Californians, and to understand what might happen during a levy breach. Tinka’s team will put their prize money toward the project’s research costs.
Two teams tied for third place, and each took home $2,500. Read about all the winners and their projects at the website below.
http://cet.berkeley.edu/
