Robert Franke, Germany
Robert Franke from Beethoven Gymnasium in Berlin, Germany, won the Stockholm Junior Water Prize for his design of the Aquakat, a solar-driven reactor for the decontamination of industrial wastewater.
Franke’s invention, the Aquakat, uses the photocatalytic properties of semiconductors to degrade persistent chemicals. His device is claimed to be cost-efficient, environmentally sustainable and of particular relevance wherever solar power could be used as an energy source. Mr. Thomas R. Martin, vice president and director of corporate relations for ITT Industries, the global sponsor of the Prize, said: “Robert’s project represents the highest objectives of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Young inventors like Robert will help lead tomorrow’s engineers as they find solutions to the many challenges we face in protecting the earth’s water.”