Energy Solution Wins Global Award

Revolutionary artificial foam which captures and converts the sun’s energy more effectively than living organisms, has won The Earth Awards 2010 at a ceremony held during September in London.

The Photosynthetic Foam, devised initially by Dr Carlo Montemagno and developed by Dr David Wendell, both from the University of Cincinnati, won the $50,000 prize after being selected from over 500 entries from around the world. The team pitched to an audience of leading CEOs and investors at a Dragon’s Den style Summit held in partnership with the Financial Times at Marlborough House, London. Some of the advantages of the foam is that is a more land efficient means of producing biofuels because it is not reliant on soil as it is a synthetic material; all captured energy is converted to sugars, unlike natural plant photosynthesis where a large amount of energy is used to maintain the life of the organism; also because of higher conversion rates, the foam is able to keep working in more carbon- intense environments such as urban environments or polluted manufacturing locations.

Professor Wendell explains: “The great aspect of Artificial Photosynthetic Foam is that it can practically contribute to a better tomorrow – which is exactly what the Earth Awards is about. Whether it’s the environment or the economy, this process has the potential to transform humanity’s approach to energy production and make an immediate positive contribution to reducing harmful carbon emissions.”

The aim of the Earth Awards, which identifies viable ideas from fashion to architecture and consumer products, and marries them with investors to provide a real solution to improving quality of life, is to give the designer the means to enter the worldwide consumer marketplace. David Wendell won the ‘Future’ category before being declared the overall winner of the 2010 awards.