2014 GreenTec Award Winners Announced

The GreenTec Awards were presented at the Internationales Congress Center München (ICM) on the evening of May 4. The GreenTec Awards are the kick-off event for IFAT, the world's largest trade fair for environmental technology, which takes place at the Messe München trade-fair center from May 5–9.

The winners of the GreenTec Awards 2014 are as follows:

• Automobility Category: RUBIN from Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH promotes the cultivation and utilization of dandelions to make natural rubber.
• Construction & Living Category: Carbon Concrete Composite (C3) from the Institute for Solid Construction, TU Dresden, for a new composite material made of carbon and high-performance concrete.
• Energy Category: The Battery Park from Younicos (in cooperation with Schwerin-based green utility WEMAG) will help to integrate more renewable energy into existing grids.
• Communication Category: Strom09 – Volle Pulle Zukunft mit dem BVB from LichtBlick SE, is a joint project with BVB, the objective of which is to reduce CO2 emissions by 25,000 tons per year.
• Lifestyle Category: "Bio-Nature" straws from Bio-Strohhalme.com bring back the original straw to eliminate 25,000 tons of plastic waste created by plastic beverage straws.
• Aviation Category: E-PORT AN – Electromobility at the Frankfurt Airport from the Lufthansa Group, Fraport AG, the State of Hesse and the Rhine-Main Electromobility Model Region focuses on significantly reducing pollutants emitted vehicles used for handling of aircraft on apron.
• Production Category: Factory of the Future – Intelligently linking production and buildings from Weidmüller Interface GmbH & Co. KG. Using its production facilities, which were completed in 2011, this entry demonstrated how integrating production and infrastructure can reduce energy requirements by up to 95%.
• Recycling & Resources Category: Separate of composite materials using microemulsion from Saperatec GmbH is a technical innovation that allows the separation and recovery of composite materials, which was not possible until now.
• Water & Sewage Category: PUROO power-saving wastewater treatment plant from ATB Umwelttechnologien GmbH is a plant that overcomes the shortcomings of current systems, requires fewer electrical components and uses at least 50% less electricity.
• Special Galileo Wissenspreis Award (ProSieben): Bees Go Balcony – An urban home for bee populations from Balkonbienen makes it possible for everyone who has a balcony to keep bees and produce and harvest their own honey.
• Special IFAT Environmental Leadership Award: Club of Rome for its active commitment to a sustainable future since 1968.
• Special intelligent urbanization Award: Energy-efficient utilization of surplus heat in the district heating network of the Chinese city of Anshan from Danfoss.
• Special Award Music: Schiller for songs that raise environmental awareness
• Special Start-up Award: akvoFloatTM from akvolution GmbH is a project that promotes more affordable seawater desalination.
• WWF Special Award: Stadtbiene 2.0 from o’pflanzt is! e. V. is an urban communal garden where bees can be kept ecologically and where wild bees and bumblebees can feed and nest.

Source: IFAT