Hamburg, 13 July 2022 – Aquila Capital has announced today its third research prize named the “Aquila Capital Transformation Award”. Themed "Solving the Climate Crisis Through Innovation", the award is aimed at recognising academic research which contributes to finding implementable solutions to mitigate climate change. From today until 31 October 2022, scientists and researchers can apply for the award, which is endowed with EUR 20,000.
The Aquila Capital Transformation Award aims to source and support outstanding innovative research focused on applicable and unconventional solutions to combat climate change. The award provides financial support for research and focuses on cooperation in the practical implementation of solutions.
Immediate and decisive action, especially in this decade, will be critical in limiting global warming to 1.5 °C. Modelled pathways call for profound reductions in emissions across all sectors, requiring innovation around low-carbon electricity and carbon management. With this award, Aquila Capital wants to make a further contribution to finding solutions that are effective in decarbonising the global economy.
Roman Rosslenbroich, Co-founder and CEO of Aquila Capital, comments: “Climate change is a massive challenge for mankind. New ways of thinking are required. Technological innovations can help find solutions which serve the common good and offer interesting opportunities to companies committed to decarbonising the economy. To pave the way for such ideas, increased cooperation between academic science and business is needed. We want to actively contribute to this with the Aquila Capital Transformation Award.”
This call for proposals is aimed at scientists worldwide whose work is directly related to sustainability, climate change and the energy transition.
As for previous editions of this award, a top-class jury will be centred around Professor Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber, Director Emeritus at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research; Professor Eicke R. Weber, former Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE; and Professor Yukari Takamura of the University of Tokyo Institute for Future Initiatives. The jury will be complemented by two academic professionals with strong credentials in the energy transition field. Together, they will determine the winners in a multi-stage selection process. The winner will be announced towards the end of the year.
In 2021, the prize was awarded to Dr Ning Yan, an assistant professor at the Van ’t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. The jury selected the lead author of the paper “A membrane-free flow electrolyser operating at high current density using earth abundant catalysts for water splitting” as the best from a high number of submissions from renowned universities and research institutes worldwide. The jury concluded that Ning Yan and his team had presented an exciting and innovative way of producing green hydrogen more cost efficiently and at larger scale by combining the advantages of different electrolyser concepts. Using a membrane-less solution coupled with a novel cyclic operation, the method uses a new low-energy water-splitting process to produce pure hydrogen, which is expected to be an important element of the future energy system.
About Aquila Capital
Aquila Capital is an investment and asset development company focused on generating and managing essential assets on behalf of its clients. By investing in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, Aquila Capital contributes to the global energy transition and strengthens the world’s infrastructure backbone. The company initiates, develops, and manages essential assets along the entire value chain and over asset lifetimes. Currently, Aquila Capital manages nearly EUR 14 billion on behalf of institutional investors worldwide. Its primary objective is to generate performance for its clients by managing the complexity of essential assets.
Today, the company manages wind energy, solar PV and hydropower assets of more than 12 GW capacity. Additionally, 1.8 million square metres of sustainable real estate and green logistics projects have been completed or are under development. Aquila Capital also invests in energy efficiency, carbon forestry, and data centres. The company has been carbon neutral since 2006. Sustainability has always been part of Aquila Capital’s value system and is an integral part of its investment strategies, processes and management of assets. The company has around 600 employees from 48 nations, operating in 16 offices in 15 countries worldwide.
Further information: https://www.aquila-capital.de/en/
Press contact Aquila Capital:
Eliza De Waard
Group Head Corporate Communications
Aquila Capital
Phone: +49 40 87 5050-101
Email: eliza.dewaard@aquila-capital.com
Caroline Schröder
FGS Global (Europe)
Phone: +49 69 921 874 621
Email: caroline.schroeder@fgsglobal.com