UK leads Europe with most ideas for €160 million GE ecomagination Challenge

A fridge that varies its capacity depending on how much it has in it, a plug and play generator that can be used in any type of energy rich environment to create power, and a system capable of creating hydro electric power from waste bath water, are just some of the ideas put forward by UK researchers, entrepreneurs and start-ups as part of the GE ecomagination challenge, a global competition launched in Munich last month.

The 28 entries so far received from the UK exceeds those from other parts of Europe, and puts the UK in 5th place in terms of numbers of entries, behind Canada with 31, Kenya 34, India 58 and the US with 681.

The GE ecomagination Challenge is all about stimulating ideas to create a smarter, cleaner and more efficient electric grid. In Europe GE is working in partnership with Science|Business as media partner, to attract entries.

The UK entries fall into three categories – renewables, grid and eco homes/buildings. Examples include:

• A plug and play generator for domestic, recreational and commercial markets. Driven by light, heat, natural and controlled fluids and mechanical systems, the generator can be placed in any energy rich environment and then refitted into another environment.

• A collection of intelligent adaptors, switches and sensors that communicate with smart meters and work together to help home owners address issues such as energy saving, home security, home monitoring and home control.

• A fridge with a variable capacity, reducing the amount of power required to cool the contents.

• A model for life-cycle carbon footprinting for use in designing new homes, which makes recommendations on possible energy savings and how to achieve them.

• A system for generating hydro electricity from bath water and drain pipe water, for use in domestic properties and office blocks, which complements solar panels by producing electricity during bad weather.

• A process for the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide from vehicles and buildings, which is then converted into renewable fuels.

Mark Elborne, President and CEO of GE in the UK, said, “The GE ecomagination Challenge is all about unlocking the potential for low carbon innovation and applying GE’s commercial expertise to transform great ideas into commercial solutions. It is pleasing to see the interest so far generated from the UK and I would encourage the country’s brightest innovators [if they] have not already submitted their ideas to do so without delay and demonstrate the UK’s position as a hub for low carbon innovation.”

The deadline for entering the competition is September 30, 2010. In late October GE will announce the names of entrants with whom it intends to pursue commercial relationships. In November, the company will announce any business deals that have been formalised. The entry receiving the most user-submitted votes will receive, subject to GE’s review for appropriate content, a cash award of $50,000. GE will present each of five innovation challenge award recipients with $100,000 in cash, for a total of $500,000, to acknowledge these entries as examples of outstanding entrepreneurship and innovation.

The GE ecomagination Challenge has been launched with the venture capital firms Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer and RockPort Capital. It is part of GE’s ecomagination initiative, a global commitment to build innovative clean energy technologies.

Since its inception in 2005, more than 90 ecomagination-certified products have been brought to market, with revenues reaching $18 billion in 2009. With $5 billion invested in R&D in its first five years, GE committed to doubling its ecomagination investment and collaboration with partners to accelerate a new era of energy innovation.

The company will invest $10 billion in R&D over five years and double the energy efficiency of its operations, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption. As part of the initiative GE launched the GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid, a $200 million commitment challenging innovators to join in building the next generation power grid. For more information visit the ecomagination website at http://ge.ecomagination.com/index.html