Earlier this month, the MIT Clean Energy Prize (CEP) announced the
winners of the 2015 competition at the Eversource MIT Clean Energy Prize
Showcase & Grand Prize Awards Ceremony, where it awarded over
$400,000, including Grand Prizes of $200,000 sponsored by Eversource
Energy and $75,000 sponsored by the United States Department of Energy’s
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency office.
In addition, three track
winners won $35,000 each, and $15,000 was awarded for the Energy for
Development Prize. Audience Choice awards of $2,500 each were also
distributed.
Grand Prize Winner
OptiBit, the winner of the $275,000 Grand Prize, helps data centers
keep up with skyrocketing volumes of data by offering revolutionary
hardware that brings the high bandwidth and energy efficiency offered by
fiber optics directly inside computer chips. Using patented technology
developed over 10 years at MIT, UC Berkeley, and University of Colorado,
OptiBit replaces today’s copper technology with a drop-in photonics
solution that has 10x more throughput, 2x lower latency, and 95 percent
less energy use.
Energy Efficiency Track Winner
NextTint, the $35,000 MassCEC Energy Efficiency prize winner, has
developed a tinting window film that can tune the amount of light and
heat that is transferred through a building's windows with a simple
flick of a switch. The technology aims to eliminate the need for blinds
and has the potential for drastically faster switching speeds than its
competitors. NextTint’s technology can keep occupants comfortable,
reduce glare, and reduce energy costs and use up to 25 percent.
Infrastructure and Resources Track Winner
CoolFlux, the $35,000 GDF Suez Infrastructure and Resources prize
winner, is a building insulation technology that uses phase change
materials to improve a building’s cooling performance by up to 40
percent, allowing owners to save money and comply with impending energy
regulations. Savings come not only from operational expenses, but also
construction costs through AC downsizing. Furthermore, this patent
pending technology is a risk-free drop-in replacement for industry
standard insulation and requires no additional expertise to install.
Renewable Energy Track Winner
Navi-Chem, the $35,000 GE Ventures Renewable Energy prize winner, is
using a novel, low-cost and eco-friendly solution to produce high-value
chemicals such as lactic acid from organic municipal solid waste.
Navi-Chem looks at waste as an abundant, zero-cost (potentially negative
cost) and renewable feedstock for a novel microbial process to produce a
high value chemical such as lactic acid, whose yearly consumption is
estimated to grow at a yearly rate of 20 percent.
Energy for Development Winner
Safire, the $15,000 Factor(E) Ventures Energy for Development prize
winner, has developed a process for low-cost pretreatment and
densification of biomass at source, increasing the feasibility of using
biomass as a renewable energy in poorer regions of the world. The team
has pioneered a process for low-cost pretreatment and densification of
biomass at source (i.e., at the level of small farms where biomass
originates), opening up access to biomass in new rural areas that
previously have been deemed too far away to be economically viable.
Audience Choice Awards
Safire was also a recipient of one of two $2,500 Audience Choice
awards, as was Emreso, developer of a new electromagnetic geophysical
method of monitoring fluid/gas movement, enhancing oil field recoveries
and helping operators control reservoir behavior and monitor carbon
sequestration.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/06/mit-clean-energy-prize-awards-400000-to-energy-efficiency-renewable-ventures.html