The seventh annual Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge at the University of Washington took place Thursday in Seattle, with 22 teams from seven Washington colleges and universities competing with new technologies that re-imagined alternative energy, battery power, water conservation, and more.
Here’s a look at the winners of the event, chosen by a field of more than 160 judges from the community, with descriptions from the UW. A total of $37,500 was awarded to the students.
$15,000 grand prize, $5,000 clean energy prize — FireBee, University of Washington
FireBee is a portable thermoelectric generator that turns cooking fires into personal power stations, creating an alternative energy source for people in countries that are otherwise off the grid.
$10,000 second place prize — Hook, University of Washington
Hook is a home automation hub that allows customers to convert existing electronics to smart devices, decreasing energy consumption, improving home safety, and reducing the amount of electronics that are routinely discarded in landfills.
$2,500 honorable mention — EcoStream, University of Washington
EcoStream builds awareness and lifelong habits to conserve our most valuable resource by helping people conserve water and change their usage habits in a fun and inexpensive way.
$2,500 honorable mention — Bettery, University of Washington Tacoma
Bettery provides a better model for battery use: a reusable subscription service that gives consumers unlimited access to reusable batteries with a monthly subscription.
$2,500 honorable mention — Ion Informatics, University of Washington
Ion Informatics is developing a proprietary technology that provides critical information to battery operators, optimizing asset utilization and prolonging the useful life of the battery. The end effect is a dramatic increase in value that can be extracted from each battery by enabling viable second use battery systems.