Introducing the Top Nominations
Energy Cloth produces electricity
Designed in: Denmark
Problem:
The challenge is to combine renewable energy with the prospect of a sustainable design, so energy is accessible all over the world.
Solution:
The product is called Energy Cloth.
The solar cell is incorporated in a lightweight and transparent organic textile and can be manufactured using industrial techniques such as silkscreen printing.
Being independent of conventional electricity, this would enrich us with the freedom to settle down anywhere on Earth.
With this invention you will easily carry the energy with you in the shape of a jacket or as a tent.
There is a huge potential in the Third World, where people live in primitive ways, suffering from extreme weather and hostile environments, only sheltered by simple textile constructions.
LifeStraw cleans dirty water anywhere
Designed in: Netherlands, Denmark, Israel
Problem:
Getting clean water to people in developing countries. The world’s greatest killer is diarrhoeal diseases from bacteria like typhoid, cholera, E. coli, salmonella etc.
Solution:
With LifeStrawTM, which lasts for one person's annual needs of clean water, nobody needs to die from these diseases. This design is made with special emphasis on avoiding any moving parts, to disregard spare parts, and to avoid the use of electricity, which does not exist in many areas in the Third World.
But as force is needed to implement the filtering, LifeStrawTM uses the natural source of suckling that even babies are able to perform.
The LifeStrawTM is produced at a price that people in the business find hard to believe, but it is essential to be able to present an affordable price to the consumer in the Third World. When fully used in the Third World this will indeed be a lifesaver.
NCC CONCEPT HOUSE – THE HOUSE WITHOUT ENERGY BILLS
Designed in: Sweden
Problem:
According to the Worldwide Fund for Nature, total energy consumption of coal, oil and gas rose by 700 percent between 1961 and 2001. And no individual area affects our environment as much as the heating and cooling of buildings. In Sweden, the electricity consumption of buildings and commercial premises accounts for 40 percent of the total use of energy all of which are to varying degrees hazardous to nature and to our environment.
Solution:
NCC attempted to devise the total solution: A building that is completely self-sufficient in terms of energy – totally “unplugged”. The building is well insulated and has a good layout and intelligently selected installations. The use of solar energy and the rigidity of the building sections mean that the additional energy required for heating and cooling the building is minimal. Solar cells and wind-power plants provide the direct electrical power required for the building’s daily operation. Surplus energy is stored in batteries and hydrogen-gas tubes for use at night and during the winter months. The building is heated by the surplus heat generated from the production and use of hydrogen gas. Energy wells are used for cooling.
