The finalists
The short list
1. Carbonscape, New Zealand
2. ADEF Ltd, USA
3. Neem Biotech, UK
4. Loughborough University, UK
The Black Phantom is a machine designed to turn biomass into charcoal, a very stable form of carbon that can be stored underground in a carbon sink.
The machine, small enough to fit inside a shipping container and be transported anywhere in the world, is “effectively one giant microwave”. In goes biomass – agricultural waste, wood thinnings, even sewage – and out comes a dense, carbon-rich material.
The technique has been used for tens of thousands of years by farmers worldwide to improve yields. But scientists have now discovered that charcoal remains “remarkably stable”, making an ideal carbon sink. The material could be buried underground in former coalmines or used to fertilise soil as ‘biochar’.
Another possibility is to burn the charcoal as a super-efficient fuel in power stations and cooking stoves. Even then, the process remains carbon-neutral as long as more biomass is grown to absorb the resulting emissions.
Professor Chris Turney explains that, while the unit runs off electricity, it still fixes more carbon than is created by generating that power. It is also possible to ‘recycle’ the gases produced and turn them into ‘green electricity’ to power the machine. Long-term, Carbonscape is looking to generate other green bi-products from their approach
Using charcoal as a carbon sink is attracting a lot of attention worldwide, with officials at the Poznan climate conference declaring the practice could eventually be eligible for carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol. Carbon sink technology “could become a source of income for the developing world, and an incentive for them to plant trees on a cyclical basis,” he says.
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“Combines nature’s ability to sequester carbon with a high-tech solution to make it permanent”,
Mark Hurd, chief executive, president and chairman, HP
Deflecktors are inexpensive, lightweight covers fitted to truck wheels, which improve fuel efficiency by reducing drag.
Fitted onto the eight wheels of a truck and its trailer, the Deflecktor cover – made of lightweight fabric – is calculated to cut fuel consumption by two per cent. It works by covering the wheel holes to reduce turbulence as lorries move at speed. Entrepreneur Jon Fleck points out that on industrial-sized wheels, each of the holes is roughly the size of a car window.
The fuel-saving statistics have already aroused interest from multi-national trucking company Schneider National, which is testing the product on its 15,000-strong fleet. On average, it takes six months to break even on the $50 cost of each Deflecktor.
“I’m coming at this from an economic perspective,” says Mr Fleck. “Quite frankly, carbon emissions aren’t top of the agenda for these companies.” He adds that there is additional money-making potential from advertising on the fabric.
Mr Fleck designed his first wheel cover 20 years ago, but the product virtually made him bankrupt. Its 50-odd metal components were hard to fit and its weight (3.5kg) cancelled out some of the fuel efficiency gains. It wasn’t until he saw a pop-up laundry basket at a trade fair in Germany that he had the idea to use fabric and wire instead: “That was the lightbulb moment.” The Deflecktor, made of just nine parts, weighs just 800g.
If all American trucks used the covers, Mr Fleck calculates they would save 460 million gallons of diesel a year. He says recent landmark legislation in California requiring long-haul truckers to fit aerodynamic devices could be just what his invention needs to really take off.
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“This simple idea could make a huge difference”,
Sir Richard Branson, chairman, president and chief executive, the Virgin Group
“Easy to implement, very scalable – helps the environment and saves money”, Leon Sandler, executive director of the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mootral is a garlic-based feed additive that reduces the methane produced by cows, sheep and other ruminants.
The extract is a natural antibiotic that limits the growth of bacteria in the ruminant’s stomach. The key ingredient is allicin, a compound derived from garlic, which reduced methane production by 94 per cent in a laboratory trial simulating ruminants’ digestive processes. Animal trials have succeeded in cutting methane emissions by 15%, and they are continuing to work out the optimum dosage and frequency.
Methane is a greenhouse gas 22 times more potent than carbon dioxide. it is estimated that the digestive processes of the world’s herds and flocks are responsible for 20 per cent of global warming.
Neem Biotech, which is already producing the additive on a commercial scale for Carbon Mootral CIC (Community Interest Company), points out that the feed additives can get to work straight away.
“Many carbon-offsetting initiatives are frustratingly long-term, but Mootral can reduce methane emissions with immediate effect,” says director Professor Jeremy Stone.
The product also has potential for implementation on a global scale. Estonia is already implementing an emissions tax for farmers ‘per ruminant capita’, with Denmark and Ireland still chewing the idea over. “Meat production is huge in terms of business interests and livelihoods. This is a way to cut down on emissions without taxing beef.”
Professor Stone suggests the airline industry could assist in the roll-out of the project. “Airlines have a vast carbon footprint to mitigate,” he says. By encouraging their passengers to purchase carbon-offsetting credits, they could finance the distribution of the additive to farms beneath their flight path, and gain ‘Mootral’ status.
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“A novel idea with the potential to have a real impact in reducing carbon emissions from the food chain”,
Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive, Tesco
4. Loughborough University, UK 
Loughborough University has produced ceiling tiles that can cool rooms with minimal energy use.
Instead of pumping cool air into a room, a false ceiling uses convection to draw warm exhaust air from the room. The air evaporates water held in a wick surface in the tiles, and the tiles cool instantly. Moreover, they don’t clog and the materials don’t degrade, so there are no significant maintenance costs.
“If you dip your hand into water and blow over it, you instantly feel cooler. Evaporation is a very powerful mechanism,” Dr Harry Salt explains. “To cool a room with a floor area of 100m2 you only need two cubic centimetres of water per second – and the effect is instantaneous.”
Dr Salt and his colleague Professor Dennis Loveday have spent the last ten years developing an effective cooling system that uses minimal energy. It can replace a traditional air conditioning system in most climates or, if used alongside AC, will halve overall energy consumption.
“This is something I’ve taken very personally because of the vast potential it has,” Dr Salt explains. “Air conditioning accounts for three per cent of the UK’s electricity, so if our system were to be rolled out it could save 1.5 per cent of that electricity. That’s two million tonnes of carbon a year.”
Dr Salt and Professor Loveday are hoping to have their tiles on the market by 2010. The product is in final trials, but they need to invest more time and money in demonstration and marketing. They anticipate a significant export potential to the United States and other hot climates.
Dr Salt says: “If it’s too hot, it’s harder for people to work. Global warming will see increased demand for cooling, and this innovation can provide cooling with minimal energy usage.”
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“This is an innovative design that will likely provide emissions reductions in building cooling systems”,
Eileen Claussen, president of Strategies for the Global Environment and the Pew Center on Global Climate Change
Clean Gas Technology
“Thermal plasma” – gas heated to over 3000C – is used to treat combustion gases from factories and power plants and separate carbon and other pollutants. The technology has a valuable byproduct: raw materials that can be used to make products like plastics or paint. (CarbonoBrasil, Brazil)
Low-cost Bamboo Housing
Pre-fabricated housing kits made from bamboo will meet the growing demand for affordable housing in Latin America. The project aims to reduce demand for timber from rainforest trees and the use of expensive, energy-intensive materials like concrete and steel. (C02 BAMBU, USA/Nicaragua)
Biogas from Cassava Waste
Methane emitted from cassava crop waste will be used to generate zero emissions energy. The process will prevent emissions from rotting crops and create cheap, renewable, grid-connected electricity and organic fertiliser for low-income farmers. (GNEEDER, Nigeria)
Consumer Solar Packages
Owners of large-scale residential or commercial real-estate are offered free installation of solar thermal technology in return for signing a long-term utility agreement to purchase energy at a capped discounted rate. The innovative business model removes the key barriers to adoption: up-front costs and the risk of energy price fluctuations.(Lumen Earth, Canada)
Solar Powered ICT Centres
A franchise network of solar-powered multi-media service centres aims to transform impoverished communities in developing countries. They will provide computers with Internet access and a cinema, offering a portfolio of pay-per-use entertainment and education services. (NICE International, Gambia)
Customised Climate Forecasting
An easy-to-use, web-based tool will provide businesses and governments with the information they need to adapt to climate change. It will show how changes of temperature, rainfall and winds are likely to affect specific locations in the future, enabling customers to develop strategies for minimising risk. (Svante Scientific, Inc., USA)
Texting for shared taxis
This system will allow people to text their travel destinations to a central computer that will arrange for customers going to the same place to share taxi. It is designed to reduce congestion and fuel usage and meet the demand for quick and safe travel. (Texxi, United Kingdom)
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