Abu Dhabi: The world's largest future energy prize of $4 million (Dh14.68 million) will be awarded to individuals and companies who submit innovative ideas and projects in a bid to promote the growth of renewable and sustainable energy.
The Zayed Future Energy Prize, an annual recognition award for innovation, leadership and sustainability in renewable energy solutions, has announced that submissions for the 2012 competition can be received online until September 19, 2011, at www.zayedfutureenergyprize.com.
The initiative is meant to address innovative solutions regarding climate change, sustainable development and the need for cleaner sources of energy.
Catalyst
The value of the award rose from $2.2 million to $4 million for the first time this year in an effort to "serve as a catalyst in identifying the most innovative solutions in this arena around the world," according to Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Director-General of the Zayed Future Energy Prize and CEO of Masdar.
The categories of the award include individuals, SMEs, NGOs and large corporations in renewable and sustainable energy.
A recognition award will be offered to large corporations that contribute to developing clean technologies and promote the application of sustainable energy. The winner in the SME/NGO category will receive $1.5 million; $1 million will go to the first runner-up, and $500,000 will go to the second runner-up.
Technological solution
This category is requested to develop and disseminate a technological solution for sustainable energy.
The winner in the large corporations category will receive a recognition award for having made a significant impact on current markets, and drawing up a sustainable strategy for the future. The individual lifetime achievement candidate can be from a variety of disciplines (academia, politics, technology and/or business), and will be awarded $500,000 for spreading awareness or developing a policy supporting renewable energy and/or sustainability.
In an effort to encourage capable youngsters to engage in conceiving strategies for energy innovation, $500,000 will be offered to an additional fourth category this year under the High School (International) prize.
Internship programme
Winners of the Zayed Future Energy Competition will be honoured in an awards ceremony to be held in Abu Dhabi on January 17, 2012.
Scheduled to commence on July 3, the Masdar Institute Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (MI-REUS) programme will run for five weeks and is open to Emiratis who are university seniors and/or those graduating this year.
The deadline for applications is on Thursday.
