Introductions

Shashi

Hi Everyone! Please introduce yourself here. Tell us a bit about yourself and your projects.

My name is Shashi Rai. I'll be managing the online community for this Prize Design. I am based in India. During my time at XPRIZE, I have managed the online community of XPRIZE Clean Air and XPRIZE Gender Data Gap and been a research associate for Water Abundance and Women's Safety XPRIZEs. Prior to XPRIZE, I have worked in HR and Administration.

If you have any community-related questions or need help, please don't hesitate to message here or email me at shashi.rai@xprize.org.

Thank you for joining the community. I’m excited to learn from you about clean energy future!

DavidPoli

Hello XPRIZE-IEEE Energy community! My name is David Poli and I'm the product manager for this prize design. This is my 5th design since joining XPRIZE, and after working on mining, wildfires, affordable housing, and longevity, this project is like a homecoming for me. I studied electrical engineering and physics in undergrad, worked as a control systems designer for power generation facilities, and later as an energy management and sustainable energy consultant for commercial real estate.

I was very excited when IEEE came to XPRIZE with the idea for a prize that increases access to clean energy to every community. I have to brush up on some of the more technical aspects of the topic, but I'm looking forward to developing a competition that has a huge impact.

Feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions about XPRIZE, my team, the prize design process, or really anything at all!

Eti

Hi everyone! I'm Eti, the lead researcher on this prize design. My background is in global policy, specializing in global risk and sustainable development. At XPRIZE, I have been working across sustainability topics, including XPRIZE Wildfire, XPRIZE Infinity Water, and XPRIZE Circular Food Packaging - XPRIZE Circular Food Economy. I'm very excited to join forces with all of you to work towards a future of clean, sustainable, resilient, and equitable energy.

Before XPRIZE, I worked at the UN on Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the past decade, I worked with / advised governments, IGOs, startups, and nonprofits across global hubs, including London, Brussels, and New York.

I look forward to the exciting discussions and ideas; thank you for sharing your thoughts and expertise!

JessicaYoon

Hello, and thank you for being part of this growing community. My name is Jessica, and I'm excited to be supporting this prize design! Prior to joining XPRIZE , my professional background has been in social services and project management.

After completing a Masters in Public Administration and joining XPRIZE in 2017, I have been part of the operations team for the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, and have also contributed to designing moonshot-type prizes in air pollution, affordable housing, and human longevity. I'm quite new to understanding the challenges and opportunities in the energy sector and am looking forward to learning a lot from all the experts generously contributing to this forum.

Joan_Woolery

Hello, my name is Joan Woolery. I'm a senior program manager at the IEEE Standards Association. I'm a Computer & Systems Engineer and I'm passionate about clean air, clean water, clean food, social justice, and social equity. I am proud to be a member of the IEEE family working to reverse and mitigate climate change.

RSumner

Hello all! I've been an activist my entire life and am excited to be part of a groundbreaking IEEE and XPrize project collaboration that will help to inspire and drive innovation into sustainable energy issues while supporting energy transportation into regions that could find benefit.

My role at IEEE is multifaceted and often in a state of flux. Currently, I oversee Strategic Planning for the IEEE Technical Activities, a collective of worldwide technically specific groups as well as the staff teams that specifically support the following IEEE Communities: Entrepreneurship, Tech Ethics, Robotics & Automation, and Broadcast Technology.

Please feel free to also connect with me via LinkedIn and know that I'm looking forward to pushing up the sleeves and solving problems!

skunsman

Hi Everyone, I am an IEEE Senior Member heavily involved in the PES Power System Communications and Cybersecurity Committee (PSCCC). I have been the PSCCC Cybersecurity Subcommittee chair for the past 4 years and recently stepped down in January. My intent is to bring my power system industry knowledge collected over my 38 year career at ABB (now Hitachi ABB Power Grids joint venture) to this community. I have also been active in the development of Offshore Wind applications and specifically, the automation, protection and control of the electrical substation assets utilizing key digital technologies for a safer and greener grid. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn Steve Kunsman and let's begin the collaboration!

Shashi

@skunsman - Welcome to the XPRIZE Community!

Thanks for introducing yourself. Your expertise very well aligns with the requirement of this project and we look forward to learning from you.

At present, we would love to have your advise on any/all of the following discussions relating to challenges and opportunities associated with the future of energy:

• Radical, Audacious Energy Technologies: What are some nascent or conceptual technologies that could have an enormous impact on decarbonization and other problems beyond?
• Achieving 100% electrification: What are the biggest barriers to securing more equitable and affordable access to energy?
• Decarbonizing the hard-to-abate sectors: How can we transform sectors such as heating, cooking, transportation, and aviation to clean, renewable, and reliable fuels? What hurdles stand in the way of innovation for these sectors?
• Getting SDG 7 back on track: What new efforts can we undertake that not only help accelerate the shift to renewables, but also expand access to, and improve the resiliency of, green energy?

grhoffman7

Hello everyone, my name is Gary Hoffman. I am an IEEE Life Fellow and Member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society and have worked in the areas of Protection and Control and now because of business, both with Distribution and Power Transformers. For my day job, I am the Founder, CEO and CTO of a company named Advanced Power Technologies in New Jersey where we monitor anything in an electrical substation mainly focusing on renewable, investor owned, municipal and Coops. I have worked in this area for the last 33 years. As a founder, I am an entrepreneur and inventor with 13 US and Foreign Patents. As for my hobby it is the IEEE where I am a Working Group Chair in Transformers Committee, a Member of the IEEE SA Board of Governors and Chair of the IEEE Standards Association Standards Board. I am really excited to be part of this effort as I am passionate about global electrification and moving towards carbon neutral ways while still maintaining a robust grid. With innovation these things are possible and I am looking forward to sharing my expertise with the team to make a meaningful contribution.

Shashi

Thanks @grhoffman7 for introducing yourself. You have an awesome background in energy. We look forward to your contributions in the community. Here is the list of active discussions.

bernardsaw

Hi everyone, my name is bernard saw. Currently I'm academic staff of UTAR, Malaysia. My research area is on the energy storage system and renewable energy. Nice to meet you all and thank you for inviting me to the XPRIZE Community.

Shashi

@bernardsaw - Excited to have you in the XPRIZE Community!
Thank you for introducing yourself. Your background very well aligns with the requirement of this project.

At present the community is discussing challenges and opportunities related to the future of energy. We would love to have your inputs on these discussion topics.

• Radical, Audacious Energy Technologies: What are some nascent or conceptual technologies that could have an enormous impact on decarbonization and other problems beyond?
• Achieving 100% electrification: What are the biggest barriers to securing more equitable and affordable access to energy?
• Decarbonizing the hard-to-abate sectors: How can we transform sectors such as heating, cooking, transportation, and aviation to clean, renewable, and reliable fuels? What hurdles stand in the way of innovation for these sectors?
• Getting SDG 7 back on track: What new efforts can we undertake that not only help accelerate the shift to renewables, but also expand access to, and improve the resiliency of, green energy?

Community members are automatically enrolled in our weekly energy newsletter as well as our monthly community-wide newsletter, as these are the best way to keep you informed of developments in this prize design and others.

Please feel free to message me here or email me at shashi.rai@xprize.org in case of any further assistance required.

Thanks.

With warm regards,
Shashi Rai
Community Manager

agval

Hello XPRIZE-IEEE Energy community! My name is Agustin Valera-Medina, and I'm a Reader/Associate Professor at Cardiff School of Engineering. I have participated as PI/Co-I on 27 industrial projects with multinationals including PEMEX, Rolls-Royce, Siemens, Ricardo, Airbus, and EON, attracting approximately £8.5M. I have 160 published papers (h-index 21), and I have concentrated my recent efforts on the subject of "Green Ammonia for Power". I have supervised 27 PhD students over 8 years at Cardiff University. I was the lead of Cardiff’s contribution to the Innovate-UK “Decoupled Green Energy” Project (2015–2018) in partnership with Siemens, STFC and the University of Oxford, which aimed to demonstrate the use of green ammonia produced from wind energy. I am currently PI of the project SAFE-AGT (EP/T009314/1, £1.9M) to demonstrate the use of green ammonia as an efficient gas turbine fuel. I am also the leader of the combustion work package of the H2020 project FLEXnCONFU (884157), a €12.7M project conceived to demonstrate ammonia power in large turbine engines. I have been part of various scientific boards, chairing sessions in international conferences and moderating large industrial panels on the topic of “Green Ammonia for Direct Use.” I have supported the preparation of two Royal Society Policy Briefings around “Green Ammonia”, and I am the principal author of the book "Techno-economic challenges of ammonia as an energy vector", published by Elsevier in collaboration with Oxford University.

SPSBadwal

Hi all, I am Sukhvinder Badwal and happy to contribute to X Prize design on Energizing the Future, based on my experience and background. I retired as a CSIRO Fellow and Director of CSIRO’s Centre for Hybrid Energy Systems in October 2017. Previously I was Chief Research Scientist with CSIRO from 1997 to 2013, Research Program Leader and Member of CSIRO Energy Technology Leadership team from 2009 to 2014. Other previous positions held include Director R & D and Chief Operating Officer (1992-1997) and General Manager, Technology Strategy (1997-1999) with Ceramic Fuel Cells Ltd.

I have more than 40 year experience and expertise in the research and development of materials and technologies for sustainable and environmentally clean energy generation. I was a key member of the CSIRO team that established Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited (CFCL), a Company formed, from my team’s research activities in 1992 to research, develop and commercialise the solid oxide fuel cell technology.
My research activities and interests include: Hybrid energy systems based on renewable energy integrated with storage (hydrogen, batteries) and utilisation technologies; Fuel cells; and green hydrogen, ammonia and oxygen production technologies. I have led and participated in many multi-million dollar projects in energy technologies.
I was member of the International Energy Agency Executive Committee on Advanced Fuel Cells from 1995 to 1999, elected fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Science & Engineering in 2001, awarded the Centenary Medal in 2002 by the Australian Federal Government, for services to Australian Society in “research and development and energy technology and engineering”, and 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award by the Flinders University. I am author / co-author of over 250 publications (h-index 55), 200 conference presentations and 40 patents granted on 12 inventions.

https://csiropedia.csiro.au/badwal-sukhvinder/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sukhvinder-badwal-7710aa33/?msgControlName=reply_to_sender&msgConversationId=6667179622666526720&msgOverlay=true
https://blogs.flinders.edu.au/alumni-stories/2020/02/20/sukhvinderbadwal/

Shashi

Thanks @SPSBadwal for introducing yourself. You have an awesome background in clean energy technologies. We are honoured to have you in this community.

Given your background I feel you would be able to contribute on these discussion topics:

• How can we transform sectors such as heating, cooking, transportation, and aviation to clean, renewable, and reliable fuels? What hurdles stand in the way of innovation for these sectors?
• Any nascent or conceptual energy technologies that has the potential to have a huge impact on energy related problems in future? Also what push is required for that technology to have huge impact now?

Would love to have your comments on the above discussions. Thanks again.

Jesse_Nyokabi

Am Jesse Nyokabi currently within Nairobi, Kenya. Am currently A GREEN ENERGY PACESETTER. I explore opportunities to accelerate the impact of Green Energy on our Environment, Economy and Communities. The Renewable Energy sector plays a major role toward Sustainable Development in the World and more so in Africa. An excellent grasp of scientific principles and concepts to make good decisions based on facts and solid data rather than opinion or perception will go along way to achieve Green Energy prosperity. Above all, success will also be very much dependent on my personal drive and determination as well as the skills and technical knowledge that I possess.
LinkedIn link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesse-nyokabi-en297/

cananacar

Hello everyone!
Nice to meet you, it is so exciting to be a part of this great community. I am an Associate Professor at Bahcesehir University in Istanbul, Turkey. I am a member of the Energy Systems Engineering department. I have a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, and my BSc and MSc are in chemical engineering. I completed my Ph.D. studies at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Oshawa, Canada) in October 2016. During my Ph.D. studies, I researched photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. My Ph.D. thesis title was “Experimental Investigation and Analyses of Continuous Type Hybrid Photoelectrochemical Hydrogen Production Systems.” In my Ph.D. research, I had designed, developed, and investigated a modular, low-cost, effective stand-alone solar hydrogen production system. This innovative system had multiple outputs, including hydrogen, chlorine, heat, electricity, and clean water, without requiring a grid connection and with zero GHG emissions. For my Master’s, as a research assistant at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, I developed and tested complex metal hydride-based hydrogen storage systems. After my Masters, I worked as a sustainability consultant in Chicago, where I focused on waste and energy management and material conservation.
My current research interests include hydrogen energy systems, energy and exergy analyses, sustainability, multigeneration, and integrated and clean energy systems. I also develop strategies to reduce energy consumption, carbon and water footprint, and waste generation in buildings and industrial operations. I am also working as an Editorial Board Member of the Elsevier journal Data in Brief. I have published 37 international peer-reviewed journal papers, 12 book chapters, and attended 18 international conferences. I have been a reviewer in seven different international journals. I have received several prestigious scholarships and awards, including the Ontario Trillium Scholarship, Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award, and Governor General’s Gold Medal for Academic Excellence. In December 2018, I received the Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the Turkish Academy of Sciences. My “Smart energy solutions with hydrogen options” article received the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy’s Zong Qiang Mao Award for the most cited paper in the Hydrogen Applications category of the year 2018. In June 2019, I received the Young Researcher Award from the Turkish National Hydrogen Association.
My LinkedIn profile is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cananacar/
Thanks for reading so far and I look forward to getting to know you all!
Best wishes,
Canan

Shashi

Thanks @cananacar for introduction. We are honoured to have you in this community. You have an amazing background and very well aligned with the requirement of this project. We look forward to your contribution in various discussions.

Simon

Hi All! My name is Simon Kiragu an energy practitioner very passionate about energy access particularly at the household level (clean cooking and lighting). I am a Young Leader in Energy Access 2017 (by AEEP) and continuously strive to advocate, promote and accelerate universal energy access to needy constituents. My drive is motivated by a strong sense of duty to impact society positively.

Shashi

@Simon - Welcome to the XPRIZE Community Simon!
Thank you for the introduction.
Given your background and experience, we feel you may be able to provide inputs on the following discussions:

• Decarbonizing the hard-to-abate sectors: How can we transform sectors such as heating, cooking, transportation, and aviation to clean, renewable, and reliable fuels? What hurdles stand in the way of innovation for these sectors?
• Renewable Energy Transfer: What would be the ideal distance of energy transfer to increase the reliance on clean energy sources?
• Radical, Audacious Energy Technologies: What are some nascent or conceptual technologies that could have an enormous impact on energy problems?

Thanks.

nyirendalevy

Hello everyone, My names are Levy Nyirenda, and I am a Regional Focal Point for East and Southern Africa, United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY). A Liaison for One Better Word Zambia, working for and with young people in our region, in advocacy, capacity building, Knowledge creation and Youth Action as a a bridge for an active youth engagement processes.

clabeaux

hello everyone, my name is Marshall Clabeaux. I am a lifelong Michigander (resident of the great lakes state of Michigan), cooperative community and energy enthusiast. I am currently working to launch Michigan Mosaic Energy Cooperative, mmecoop.com, in Lansing, MI. We do a variety of energy and community building tasks from community gardens, upcycled laptop batteries into new storage solutions, ebikes, community solar and more!
More of my work to transition the state of Michigan into 100% renewable energy future to protect our water and lands for future generations can be found at mienergytransition.com.
thanks for the work and space to share!

best, in cooperation,

Shashi

Thanks @nyirendalevy and @clabeaux for the introduction.
You might have some thoughts / inputs on the latest prize directions discussions. We would love to hear your thoughts on these.

RegenTower

Hello, if you're tired of all the problems with prehistoric and outdated turbine wind and water generators then the only solution known to man has been patented and introduced to the world.
100% Wildlife and Environmentally Safe and Friendly!
700% more electricity!
3 full time jobs to monitor the mass production of Electricity!
They sit in place of 1 turbine, produce 700% more Renewable Energy than Turbines are capabe of producing, Guaranteed!

I'm looking to crowdfund and am not interested in corporate investors.

Charlie

AnthonyMburu

Hello Everyone..I'm Anthony Mburu from Nairobi Kenya and i'm delighted to be part of this community. I have been in renewable energy since 2016- first in the solar home system space before finding my passion in battery energy storage in Tesla's Energy division. I have since founded Enerstore Africa with a vision to contribute to driving more reliable renewable energy in the African continent. I believe that the continent would benefit most from energy storage given the abundance of solar resources juxtaposed to limited grid infrastructure. The continent has the strongest incentive to leapfrog conventional electricity networks and straight into a decentralised electricity future.
Looking forward to interacting with you all here to advance the renewable energy transition!

Regards,
Anthony

Febbie

Hello XPRIZE-IEEE Energy community, I am Febbie Gross Kandaya, an electrical engineer based in Lilongwe Malawi. I run a renewable energy social enterprise called Divine Energy solutions. Only 11% of the Malawi population has access to electricity through the main grid. And women are the main victims of energy poverty in our country. This prompted me to study electrical engineering at Malawi Polytechnic with the goal developing energy solutions that would improve lives of women and the general population. In 2015, i joined the state broadcasting station as a general engineer involved in setting up power back up system. in 2016, joined Baobab Health Trust as a lead engineer under the
Data for health initiative being supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies targeting rural health centers in off grid communities. I was leading my team to install and maintain solar power systems in rural health centers. In 2019 i founded Divine Energy Solutions whose mission is to develop cost effective solutions that would solve energy poverty related challenges that mostly affect women in communities. These include clean energy for cooking products at household level and designing mini-grids for productive use in different enterprises in the communities. Further, i am part of Women in energy movement, an initiative that is encouraging the participation of women to be a solution and beneficiaries of renewable energy solutions for productive use at both the household and the industrial levels respectively

Looking forward to fruitful conversation

Shashi

Hi @RegenTower - Thanks for giving us a solution to the outdated turbines. It would help if you would let us know more about yourself, your background and expertise. Also, we would love to see any inputs / feedbacks you have on our potential prize directions.

Shashi

Hi @AnthonyMburu - Thanks for the introduction. Your expertise very well aligns with this prize requirement. Also, we agree energy storage can help overcome the variable nature of some renewable energy sources. Looking forward to your contributions in the community.

Hi @Febbie - Thanks for the introduction. Amazing work so far! Access to reliable and resilient clean energy is the biggest barriers in many developing countries. Let's work together to overcome these barriers. We look forward to your contributions in the community.

RegenTower

Shashi
Well I invented, designed and patented the solution for all the wind and water Renewable Energy problems, from wildlife and environment to climate, as far as freezing up. Plus WindGens produce 7xs more electricity while sitting in place of 1 turbine.
I've been in the field since wind farms were started, over 40 yrs ago. WindGen Tower Generators are unmatched and will always be the largest producing wind and water Renewable Energy Generators in the Industry.
I've done it all on my own and I'm looking for help to go Commercial and International.
I hope this is what you were talking about as far as more about me.

RegenTower

Shashi
The Potential Prize is a wonderful portal for inspiring innovations. There seems to be many great people working for a better tomorrow, and its great to see them get a helping hand.

Shashi

Thanks @RegenTower for sharing more details about yourself and the solutions developed by you.