2009 CleanTech Challenge Winners
The winning teams for 2009 were:
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GreenLease: A turnkey green energy solution provider |
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The concept is a company that would take all the hassle out of getting solar panels and wind turbines installed on a home, office, or government building. No large capital investment would be needed, and the company would arrange for all the permitting, government paperwork, installation, and on-going maintenance. Customers would be able to save money on their total electricity bill from the first month. And they would have the added benefit of knowing that their electricity is being provided in a clean and renewable fashion that reduces dependence on foreign oil and gas. The value-creating math in this equation is that by having a commercial enterprise own the solar/wind systems on a government or residential building, the company would be able to depreciate the equipment and benefit from the tax savings. This would allow the firm to offer renewable energy systems to the end customer for a monthly payment that is lower than they could arrange on their own. |
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Brett Prior, CFA
Daniel Saunders |
Daniel del Conde |
Hydrogen Production from Renewable Biomass |
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The decreasing reserves of fossil carbon and environmental problems related to its use, lead to a growing interest of the chemical industry in the use of renewable feedstocks. Glycerol is a waste product of the biodiesel industry, and offers a promising alternative as an inexpensive, sustainable resource in the production of chemicals. For every 9 pounds of biodiesel produced, 1 pound of crude glycerol by-product is obtained. Nowadays, biodiesel production plants are in need of methods to realize increased income of this glycerol feedstock. In our project, a novel catalytic process has already been developed at lab-scale for the conversion of glycerol (220 €/tonne) into propylene glycol (1180 €/tonne). The innovative aspect of our patented technology is the use of biogenic, in situ produced hydrogen from renewable biomass. The valuable chemical bulk intermediate propylene glycol is currently petroleum-derived and is used in a broad array of applications including unsaturated polyester resins, antifreeze products, deicing fluids, liquid detergents, solvents, paints, cosmetics and other personal care products. Industrial estimates put global demand for propylene glycol around 1,6 million tonnes/year. Our business plan consists of commercialising this sustainable process on an industrial scale. Publication: http://www.rsc.org/Publishing/Journals/CC/article.asp?doi=b812886c |
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Stijn Van de Vyver Nicolas Kint |
Meggie Vervelghe Pieter Heyns |
