Google's "Little Box Challenge" -Apply for the Little Box Challenge and create a renewable energy inverter
Tech giant, Google is offering a prize of USD one million (about Rs 6 crore) for building a compact solution for transforming renewable energy into a power source that can be used at home. Google, along with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), has started a 'Little Box Challenge' to design and build a kW-scale power inverter, a device used to convert renewable energy, including solar and wind, before transforming it into suitable current for home and vehicles.
Tech giant, Google is offering a prize of USD one million (about Rs 6 crore) for building a compact solution for transforming renewable energy into a power source that can be used at home. Google, along with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), has started a 'Little Box Challenge' to design and build a kW-scale power inverter, a device used to convert renewable energy, including solar and wind, before transforming it into suitable current for home and vehicles.
The
challenge is that the new device has to be of the size of a small
laptop, roughly 1/10th of the current size. "We are looking for someone
to build a kW-scale inverter with a power density greater than 50W per
cubic inch. Do it best and we will give you a million bucks," Google
said in a blogpost.
Google
believes that this will help "change the future of electricity". "We
believe that inverters will become increasingly important to our economy
and environment as solar PV, batteries, and similar power sources
continue their rapid growth," Google said.
It
added that the innovation coming in would have wide applicability
across areas, will increase efficiency, drive down costs and open up new
use cases. Google said
making the power inverter smaller would enable more solar-powered homes,
more efficiently distributed electrical grids, and could help bring
electricity to the most remote parts of the planet.
"A
smaller inverter could help create low-cost micro grids in remote parts
of the world. Or allow you to keep the lights on during a blackout via
your electric car's battery. Or enable advances we haven't even thought
of yet," Eric Raymond from Google's Green Team wrote. The last date for registration is September 30, 2014, while the grand prize winner will be announced in January 2016.
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