Sustainable Shower Wins $690,000 USD in Postcode Lottery Green Challenge (1)

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  Nick Christy of Australia has won the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge 2011 for his Water Recycling Shower. He'll receive $690,000 to bring it to market. The shower system cuts water and energy use and costs by 70 percent without compromising comfort. It works by heating water just before use and sterilizing and reusing the excess.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110915/DC69135)

The jury was impressed by Nicks effective, well-executable invention and his solid business plan. "It's fantastic," he said. "The prize money puts my team and me in a position to devote ourselves full-time to getting this shower on the market."

Runner-up receives $275,000
The jury awarded a runner-up prize of $275,000 to Eden Full, 19, of Canada, whose SunSaluter, a $10 bamboo and metal rotator, boosts solar panels' effectiveness by 40 percent by tilting them towards the sun.

Working for a sustainable world
The Dutch Postcode Lottery received 717 entries from 81 countries in this year's Green Challenge. Six were named finalists – two from the Netherlands and one each from Sweden, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. The actor Brad Pitt wished the finalists good luck in a video message. William McDonough, guru of sustainable building and production, announced the winner's name.

Making bright ideas come true
Too often, brilliant green ideas stay on paper. This year for the fifth time, the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is helping some of them to reach the general public. The global competition encourages people to think creatively about fighting climate change. Previous winners have gone on to achieve success with their innovative products and services, thanks in part to the publicity and network around the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge.

(1) Exchange rate September 2011: 500.000 Euro

About the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge

The Dutch Postcode Lottery has held the Green Challenge every year since 2007 as part of its efforts to help make the world a greener place. The Postcode Lottery Green Challenge is one of the world's largest competitions for sustainable innovation. Creative, innovative thinkers are encouraged to compete for the $690,000 prize with environmentally friendly products and services that reduce CO2 emissions and score highly on design, user-friendliness and quality. Each entrant must supply a detailed business plan so the expert preliminary jury can determine whether the idea is viable. Previous winners have gone on to achieve success with their groundbreaking inventions, thanks in part to the publicity and network around the Green Challenge.

In 2010, the American Scot Frank won for the portable, affordable multipurpose solar collector SolSource. The winner in 2009 was Britain's Dean Gregory, for The Power Collective, a company that makes nearly invisible rooftop wind turbines. In 2008, Eben Bayer of the United States took the prize for the natural insulation material Greensulate. And our first winner, in 2007, was the Dutchman Igor Kluin, whose Qbox device enables decentralized electricity generation.

For more information, see www.greenchallenge.info.

SOURCE Dutch Postcode Lottery