New Zealand celebrates innovations in sustainability
The winners of the New Zealand Innovators Awards 2015 were announced on 21 October, showcasing a large array of New Zealand organisations demonstrating world-class innovation.
The winner of the Innovation in Agribusiness & Environment category was fibre-gen, a company which is committed to maximising wood quality yields from forests. The company has developed the HITMAN PH330, an acoustic device that sonically tests the tensile strength of a tree in its entirety before it is cut down. This allows the tree to be segregated into construction-strength timber and timber for other uses.
A finalist in the Agribusiness & Environment category, and winner of Innovation in Sustainability & Cleantech, was Terax 2013. The company’s waste conversion technology treats biowaste as a recyclable resource, overcoming the environmental and contamination issues which would otherwise make disposal difficult. The cost-saving process reduces wastewater, eliminates organic solids, sterilises them and recovers useful components such as nitrogen and carbon for recycling.
Not to be outdone, Methven took home two awards on the night, winning the Innovation in Design & Engineering category and Export Innovator of the Year. The company has developed Aurajet, a halo-shaped shower head with spray technology that causes jets of water to collide. This creates 20% more spray force and twice the amount of water on skin contact of a normal shower, without using any extra water.
New Zealand Innovation Council CEO and awards convener Louise Webster said the winners of the 2015 awards demonstrate that innovation and commercialisation are thriving across many industry sectors.
“It is at the intersection between these sectors where truly disruptive, innovative products and business ventures are created,” she said.
“These awards bring together incredible innovators, entrepreneurs, organisations and investors from all industries across New Zealand to collaborate and celebrate. The 2015 entrants give a real sense that Kiwi innovation is moving into the mainstream, demonstrating world-leading approaches to innovation.”
The full list of award winners can be found at http://www.innovators.org.nz/winners-a-finalists/winners-2015.
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