The Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation have announced the five teams who will be competing for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy in the final round, which will take place in the following year.
An impartial group of industry experts deliberated over the facts from the real world and chose the five most promising teams after conducting a thorough analysis of the information. AfTrak Micro Electric Agriculture and Energy, GEG ehf, New Digit Technologies, OMNIVAT, and Smart Agri-Centres are the teams that have participated.
Each of the teams that made it to the final round will receive $70,000 in order to further develop and test their solutions. These solutions will be put through their paces in a genuine field test demonstration that will take place in South Africa.
The participating teams’ capacities to achieve the challenge of generating 60 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity in twenty-four hours will be evaluated by the judges. This will be accomplished by demonstrating off-grid electricity generation utilizing renewable energy sources, and by supplying inexpensive and reliable electricity to energy-poor communities based on the demonstration.
To present, the competition has awarded a total of $750,000 in prizes to businesspeople who are conducting research and development on innovative ideas with the goal of broadening Africans’ access to power that is dependable, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly.
In May of 2024, the judges will decide who will win the grand prize of one million dollars. In addition to this, there will be a second-place prize of $250,000. The Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy will pay over two million dollars in total prizes and bonuses to the winner of the competition.
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Remarks
“Access to electricity can advance industrialisation across Africa and improve the standards of living for many marginalised communities,” remarked Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, co-founder and CEO of the Motsepe Foundation. “These finalists are building innovative solutions to deliver on the promise of a sustainable future, in line with the (UN’s) Sustainable Development Goals. We will be delighted to welcome them to South Africa for the live demonstrations next year.”
“These finalists have once again proven the value of the innovation competition model in driving breakthroughs,” commented Emily Musil Church, senior director at the Milken Institute. “The semi-finalist round pushed these teams to stretch their limits and build solutions that are scalable and life-changing for millions.”
About the Milken Institute and the Motsepe Foundation
The Milken Institute is an independent, non-profit organization that works to hasten the arrival at concrete, attainable goals. Financial, physical, mental, and environmental well-being are prioritized as we pool cutting-edge thinking and resources to create action plans for addressing some of the world’s most pressing problems. Check out https://milkeninstitute.org/ for additional details.
Dr. Patrice Motsepe and Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe established the Motsepe Foundation in 1999. The mission of the Motsepe Foundation is to alleviate poverty, create jobs, and empower the underprivileged and marginalized in South Africa, Africa, and around the world. Both Dr. Patrice Motsepe and Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe signed the Giving Pledge, an initiative launched by Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda Gates, in January 2013. Dr. Patrice and Mrs. Motsepe have pledged to donate half of their fortune to charity during and after their lifetimes.