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Winner Igor Kluin: “PICNIC Green Challenge changed my life”.
Written by Ina Eggink Published in De Telegraaf (Dutch Newspaper in May 08)
AMSTERDAM – “And the winner is…..” When his name and his idea for a local energy network were announced last year, Igor Kluin had no idea his life would change so much. As the first winner of the PICNIC Green Challenge, he received €500,000 to help him realise his idea for decentralised power stations.
But the media attention and the international network that were placed at his disposal proved even more important. “Without a doubt, winning the Green Challenge totally changed my life,” he says. “Yes, the idea of generating energy locally using the Qbox was there, but its execution really took off after that.”
The idea is brilliantly simple. Energy is generated locally – say, in a residential neighbourhood or on an industrial site – by sustainable means such as solar panels or a windmill. The energy coming into each house or business is measured by something called a QBox. This intelligent unit knows exactly when energy is needed and how much. The Qbox can be set to turn appliances on and off at optimal times. It also handles the administration of incoming and outgoing energy. All information is stored on a central server. In this way, every user gets an overview of his or her own energy use.
The system is full of advantages. Since energy transport is no longer necessary, electricity costs considerably less. The user is no longer dependent on power stations. The optimal use of locally generated energy means a vast increase in efficiency, and people’s knowledge of their own energy use can improve it even more.
Igor Kluin’s company, Qurrent, is no longer a one-man business. “There are seven of us working on the product now,” he reports. “Various pilot projects will start this year all across the Netherlands, at businesses as well as residences. We’re keeping it close to home at first. We’ve already got contacts abroad, though. I was in South Africa recently to research opportunities for our services there. So it’s going really well!”
The goal of the PICNIC Green Challenge is to support a product or service that genuinely helps to reduce CO2 emissions. Everyone is invited to enter. An international jury will nominate several finalists to compete for the grand prize of €500,000, provided by the Dutch Postcode Lottery. The five finalists will present their ideas to the public this September at the PICNIC event, which draws thousands of creative minds from the Netherlands and abroad and is being held for the third time this year. The winner will be announced on 25 September.
Co-founder Bas Verhart is as enthusiastic as he was last year. “The event as well as the Green Challenge have been a terrific success,” he says. “We got a huge amount of attention and thereby achieved what we wanted: more coherence among the sustainable products on offer, so it will become natural for consumers to choose green goods and services.”
The entry period for the Green Challenge closes on 31 July 2008. Entry requirements can be found at www.greenchallenge.info.
