Sep 21, 2023

Launched in 2020 by Prince William, The Earthshot Prize is the world’s most prestigious environmental prize Following a rigorous selection process, a panel of advisors with expertise in science, conservation, innovation, investment, economics, politics and activism selected Aquacycl from more than 1,100 nominations Aquacycl is making the treatment of industrial wastewater more affordable, more efficient, and less carbon intensive. Today, at an event in New York City, Prince William and The Earthshot Prize announced Aquacycl as one of the 15 Finalists for the 2023 Earthshot Prize, a prestigious global environmental award that celebrates and champions innovators focused on solving our most pressing global climate challenges. Aquacycl and the 14 other innovators honored as Earthshot Finalists represent six continents and were chosen from more than 1,100 nominees. Each of the Finalists will be in the running to receive one of five £1M prizes awarded at the third-annual Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Singapore later this year. Aquacycl’s BioElectrochemical Treatment Technology (BETT) makes treating industrial wastewater more affordable, more efficient, and less carbon intensive. The system uses naturally occurring bacteria to make even the most polluted water safe, while also generating usable electrical current. Independent of electricity grids and sewer systems, Aquacycl’s wastewater treatment units remove pollutants at a rate 10 times higher than conventional treatment technologies. Compared with conventional systems, Aquacycl reduces the overall greenhouse gas emissions implicated in industrial wastewater treatment by more than half. Because their units generate their own current, they use less electricity. And because the fuel cells are housed and serviced on-site in shipping containers, Aquacycl eliminates the need for fossil fuels associated with haulage. This allows Aquacycl to cut industrial wastewater management costs by more than 30% on average. “We are excited and humbled about the prize, the network and support that it brings, but also for the impact that Aquacycl can have for climate.” commented Orianna Bretschger, CEO and Founder of Aquacycl. “Most people don't recognize the fact that the way wastewater is treated today actually generates more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire shipping industry. And we're only treating 20% of the global volume. We are bringing new technology that can help close the gap on untreated wastewater, and still allow us to meet our climate goals, and we are honored to be recognized as a finalist by The Earthshot Prize.” Founded by Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize aims to discover and help scale the world’s most innovative climate and environmental solutions to protect and restore our planet. The Prize is centered around five ‘Earthshots,’: simple but aspirational goals to ensure our communities, oceans and ecosystems can thrive together in harmony for generations to come: 1) Protect & Restore Nature; 2) Clean Our Air; 3) Revive Our Oceans; 4) Build A Waste-free World and 5) Fix Our Climate. In addition to their eligibility for the £1M prize, all Finalists will receive mentorship, resources and technical support from The Earthshot Prize Fellowship Program, a year-long programme for each cohort of 15 Finalists to accelerate the growth of their groundbreaking solutions. That support includes access to the Prize’s robust network of influential businesses, investors, and climate experts, including The Earthshot Prize’s Global Alliance of Partners, which is comprised of some of the world’s largest businesses, donors, investors and environmental organizations committed to climate action. The five Winners of this year’s Prize will be selected by Prince William and the prestigious Earthshot Prize Council, a global body of activists, experts, and influencers championing urgent and innovative action to protect the climate and our natural environment. The Earthshot Prize Council is chaired by The Earthshot Prize Board of Trustees Chair, Christiana Figueres DBE, architect of the Paris Agreement. The Earthshot Prize Council Members include: Prince William, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, Cate Blanchett, Sir David Attenborough, Ernest Gibson, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Indra Nooyi, Jack Ma, Luisa Neubauer, Naoko Yamazaki, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and Yao Ming. The Earthshot Prize awards ceremony will take place on November 7 in Singapore. It will air around the world via broadcast partners to be announced in due course. This year, for the first time, the awards ceremony will be accompanied by a series of events as part of Earthshot Week. Beginning Monday 6 November, the week will see global leaders, businesses and investors convene in Singapore to explore exciting opportunities with The Earthshot Prize Winners and Finalists, aimed at accelerating their solutions and bringing about tangible action to repair the planet. Members of the public will also be invited to experience local activations centered on the 2023 cohort of Earthshot solutions. For more information about The Earthshot Prize 2023 Finalists, please visit www.earthshotprize.org. About Aquacycl: Aquacycl (www.aquacycl.com) helps companies take climate action by providing wastewater treatment as a service that mitigates up to 90% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Aquacycl enables industrial customers to maintain healthy watersheds by simplifying complex, tough to treat wastewater; and provides the only technology for treatment of high-strength organic wastewater without dilution. Aquacycl provides permanent and mobile systems through competitive service plans; and strives to be the leading global provider of climate-focused decentralized wastewater treatment applications. About The Earthshot Prize: Founded by Prince William and incubated in the The Royal Foundation in 2020 for a year before becoming an independent platform/organization, The Earthshot Prize is a global environmental prize and platform designed to discover, accelerate and scale ground-breaking solutions to repair and regenerate the planet. Inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s Moonshot, which united millions of people around the goal of reaching the moon, The Earthshot Prize aims to catalyze an Earthshot challenge to urgently encourage and scale innovative solutions that can help put the world firmly on a trajectory towards a stable climate, where communities, oceans and biodiversity thrive in harmony by 2030. The five challenges are: Protect and Restore Nature; Clean Our Air; Revive Our Oceans; Build a Waste-Free World; and Fix Our Climate. The Prize aims to turn the current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism by championing inspiring leadership and helping to scale incredible cutting-edge solutions. It will discover 50 winners over 10 years with the power to repair the planet. More than an award, The Earthshot Prize works in partnership with a Global Alliance of Partners to support the scaling of the solutions discovered and selected each year. The Global Alliance Founding Partners are a group of leading global organizations and philanthropists, which act as strategic funding partners to the Prize, including Aga Khan Development Network, Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Breakthrough Energy Foundation, Coleman Family Ventures, DP World in partnership with Dubai EXPO 2020, Eleven Eleven Foundation, Holch Povlsen Foundation, Jack Ma Foundation, Law Family Charitable Foundation, Legado Para A Juventude, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, Marc and Lynne Benioff, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Rob Walton Foundation, Sandy and Paul Edgerley and Standard Chartered Bank. Global Alliance Partners are non-profit environment and sustainable development organizations that bring expertise, global reach and serve as nominating organizations each year. For full list see website: Global Alliance - Earthshot Prize. Global Alliance Members are some of the world’s largest and most influential companies and brands that will support The Earthshot Prize, implement ambitious changes within their businesses and accelerate the advancement of the solutions of Prize Finalists and Winners. They are: Arup, Bloomberg L.P., Deloitte, Herbert Smith Freehills, Hitachi, Ingka Group (IKEA), Microsoft, The Multichoice Group, Natura &Co, Safaricom, Salesforce, Unilever, Vodacom Group and Walmart. About the 2023 Earthshot Prize Finalists: The full list of 2023 Finalists for The Earthshot Prize is: For The Earthshot Prize to Protect and Restore Nature, the 2023 Finalists are: Acción Andina, Peru: Acción Andina is a grassroots, community-based initiative working across South America to protect native high Andean forest ecosystems for their invaluable benefits to nature and millions of people in the region. Freetown the Tree Town, Sierra Leone: Combining community stewardship and digital tools, the City of Freetown’s initiative, Freetown the Tree Town, is galvanising a grassroots movement for tree preservation in Sierra Leone's capital. Belterra, Brazil: Belterra works with smallholder farmers in Brazil to restore forests through regenerative agricultural practices and to create market incentives for sustainably grown crops. For The Earthshot Prize to Clean Our Air, the 2023 Finalists are: Polish Smog Alert, Poland: One of the world’s most effective conservation campaign groups, Polish Smog Alert, helps secure policy change and air quality improvements across Poland and has goals to do the same across Central and Eastern Europe. ENSO, UK: ENSO creates tyres specially designed for electric vehicles that are more sustainable and reduce harmful tyre pollution, leading to cleaner air for everyone. GRST, Hong Kong: With the development of a new way to build and recycle vital lithiumion batteries, GRST’s solution offers a pathway to make the electric cars of the future even cleaner. For The Earthshot Prize to Revive Our Oceans, the 2023 Finalists are: ABALOBI, South Africa: Using easy-to-scale technology, Abalobi works with small fishing communities to record their catch data and to ensure a fair and improved livelihood from sustainable fishing. Coastal 500, Global (US HQ): A global network of mayors and local government leaders, Coastal 500 is restoring ocean habitats and advocating for coastal protection internationally. WildAid Marine Program, Global (US HQ): Global non-profit organisation WildAid uses partnership building and knowledge sharing to address the world’s ocean conservation needs. For The Earthshot Prize to Build A Waste-Free World, the 2023 Finalists are: S4S Technologies, India: S4S Technologies’ solar-powered dryers and processing equipment combat food waste, enabling small-hold farmers to preserve crops and turn produce that might otherwise go to waste into valuable products. Circ, US: US based company Circ has created a groundbreaking solution to enable the recycling of polycotton fabrics, which make up half of all textile waste. Colorifix, UK: Colorifix uses DNA sequencing and nature's own colours to create sustainable dyes that reduce the fashion industry’s use of water and harmful chemicals. For The Earthshot Prize to Fix Our Climate, the 2023 Finalists are: 1. Sea Forest, Australia: Sea Forest’s revolutionary seaweed-based livestock feed drastically reduces the planet-warming methane emissions from cattle and sheep, and supports sustainable farming and healthy marine ecosystems. 2. Aquacycl, US: Using microbial technology, Aquacycl are making the treatment of industrial wastewater more accessible, more efficient, and less polluting. 3. Boomitra, Global (US HQ): Boomitra are removing emissions and boosting farmer profits by incentivising land restoration through a verified carbon-credit marketplace. Source: The Earthshot Prize