Gabby Ozaeta and Yumi Briones of Team Chinquapin from Ateneo de Manila University won the country finals of Go Green in the City 2019 with their renewable energy device project proposal.
Go Green in the City is an annual global business case challenge hosted by Schneider Electric to empower students to unleash their skills and creativity in coming up with the next big innovation to promote smart cities and green energy management.
This year’s categories: “Buildings of the Future,” “Plants of the Future,” “Grids of the Future,” and “Sustainability and Access to Energy” were developed as a means to reflect Schneider Electric’s commitment to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Team Chinquapin’s project, Rainshine panel is a renewable energy device that generates clean energy, both from the sun and the rain.
It is composed of two parts: polycrystalline silicon solar cells and a reduced graphene oxide thin film on a polylactic acid plastic substrate. As the solar cell generates electricity from sunlight, the graphene layer generates energy from raindrops by utilizing the Hydrovoltaic effect.
According to the winning team, the Rainshine panels are made of low-cost but highly efficient materials, making its price competitive compared with regular solar panels in the market.
Team Chinquapin’s proposal bested over 1,300 proposals submitted this year. The duo bagged P100,000 cash prize in addition to the mentorship they will receive from Schneider Electric Philippines’ team of experts to prepare for the Asia Pacific Regional Finals in August 2019 where they will be representing the Philippines. They will be competing against the respective country winners of Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
“Go Green in the City is the perfect avenue for students to unleash their creativity and really let their imaginations run wild. Given the past performances of the Philippine teams, there is no doubt that our students have what it takes to conquer the global stage,” said Schneider Electric Philippines country president Alexandre Vermot.
This year’s Philippine country finals’ panel of judges was composed of Schneider Electric Philippines director for industrial automation business Ruth Ramayla, Schneider Electric Philippines energy and business development director Homer Ilagan, PhilCarbon president and chief executive Ruth Yu-Owen, and Vena Energy operations and maintenance manager Bren Lalican.