Mapúa University student Carvey Ehren Maigue has been chosen as the first-ever James Dyson Sustainability Award winner for his AuREUS invention which generates renewable solar energy and up-cycles crop wastes in the process.
The 27-year-old Filipino student’s technology won the inaugural Sustainability Award, besting over 1,800 entries received by the international James Dyson competition this year for his Aurora Renewable Energy & UV Sequestration (AuREUS) system, a material made from up-cycled crop waste that can be attached to pre-existing structures like walls and windows to convert ultraviolet (UV) light into clean electricity.
Many renewable energy sources can only be generated in very specific environmental conditions but Maigue’s invention can harvest electricity even when not directly facing the sun. AuREUS campaigns for better solar energy access and supports the local agriculture industry hit by calamities through the up-cycling of spoiled crops which reduces farmer income loss.
“As a farmer, I see great potential in Carvey’s technology to generate clean renewable energy. AuREUS System Technology conserves space using pre-existing structures, utilises current resources and waste streams, and supports local agricultural communities…this element of his invention is particularly clever and shows the close link between farming and technology,” James Dyson, Founder and Chief Engineer at Dyson said about Maigue’s device.
This year, James Dyson also looked for entries that addressed a sustainability issue, or have been designed, sourced, or manufactured sustainably. Mapúa’s Carvey Maigue was announced as the first Sustainability Winner awardee by the British inventor himself among other international winners on November 19, 2020.
Maigue will also be awarded the cash prize of 1,900,000 PhP by James Dyson. The fifth-year engineering student is already looking for ways to develop his material for use beyond windows and walls.
“Winning the James Dyson Award is both a beginning and an end. It marked the end of years of doubting whether my idea would find global relevance. It marks the beginning of the journey of finally bringing AuREUS System Technology to the world,” Maigue told James Dyson in an interview.
“We are also looking to create curved plates, for use on electric cars, aeroplanes, and even boats. AuREUS has the chance to bring solar energy capture closer to people…I want to create threads and fabric so that even your clothes would be able to harvest ultraviolet light and convert it into electricity,” Maigue added.
The international James Dyson Award is a design competition that runs in 27 countries. AuREUS was previously among the runners-up in the national category for the award alongside two other entries from the Philippines in the international tilt which includes the University of the Philippines’ multi-functional workstation BoxOffice and reBIRTH, a women-centered birthing tool.
Filipino James Dyson awardee, Maria Yzabell Angel Palma, invented another eco-friendly device which is an air conditioner that runs without ozone-depleting refrigerant while a solar energy-focused campaign called Light it Forward received the Asia Pacific Social Innovation and Partnership Award (APSIPA) for their initiative to bring solar lamps to villages without light.
SEND CONGRATULATIONS in the comments below to Mapúa University student Carvey Ehren Maigue for being the first James Dyson Sustainability Award winner for his AuREUS invention that converts UV light to renewable solar energy!
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