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Global Trends
GLOBAL COOLING PRIZE ANNOUNCES CEREMONY FOR FINALISTS Up to 10 developers of breakthrough cooling technologies will be awarded US $200,000 each on November 15, in New Delhi, India — By Tine Stausholm
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he Global Cooling Prize, designed to spur the development of climate -friendly room air conditioning (RAC), has a n n o u n c e d i n a n e ma il communication that up to 10 finalists will be revealed at a ceremony in New Delhi, India, on November 15, 2019. The prize competition aims to develop residential cooling technology that has a climate impact at least five times lower than current standard room air conditioning units. The 10 finalists came from a submission process that resulted in 445 “Intent to Apply” forms from around the world. The competition was launched in November 2018 by the Government of India, Mission Innovation and the Rock y Mountain Institute (RMI), and it has Sir Richard Branson as its ambassador. It is administered by RMI, Conservation X Labs, the Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) and CEPT University.
Accelerate Magazine // September 2019
The awards ceremony “will feature these breakthrough cooling technologies and will have special remarks from global and national leaders on the dais,” said Iain Campbell, senior fellow, RMI. This is a special invitation-only event with limited capacity. Individuals who would like to attend should contact the prize administrators at info@ globalcoolingprize.org. All the shortlisted candidates will be awarded US $200,000 to support further development of their idea, and the construction of two working prototypes delivered to an Indian test site. After testing and evaluation of the prototypes, the final winner will be announced in November or December 2020. The winner, or winning team, will receive an additional US $1 million in prize money.
U.S. AND INDIA LEAD SUBMISSIONS The 445 candidates are from 56 countries, with the largest number of submissions coming from the United States and India - 140 and 122, respectively. The candidates include individuals, start-ups, university researchers, nonprofits and companies within the air conditioning industry, with the largest groups being individuals (36.4%) and start-ups (27.6%). The winning AC technology could prevent up to 100 gigatons (GT) of CO 2 e emissions by 2050, and put the world on a pathway to mitigate up to 0.5˚C of global warming by 2100, said the prize organizers. According to a report by RMI, “Solving the Global Cooling Challenge,” business-asusual measures are insufficient to overcome the impact of RAC growth and calls for a “5x” solution. “What we have done is defined the target, and we are asking the world’s innovators, whoever you are, to hit that target,” said Paul Bunje, co-founder and COO/CSO of Conservation X Labs. “Have five times less climate impact and you will win. By doing that, we all change the world.” TS