An innovative carbon-saving idea has won an Imperial student team £15,000 of start-up funding at the 2014 Mayor's Low Carbon Entrepreneur Competition.

Postgraduate students James Winfield from the Centre for Environmental Policy and Dominic Jacobson from the Department of Chemistry were announced as the winners by the Mayor of London Boris Johnson at an award ceremony held on Wednesday 4 June.

Their idea, Crowd Power Plant, is a social enterprise that involves buying surplus electricity from renewable energy sources and selling this on through either the wholesale market or to energy companies. The team hopes that their idea will encourage the uptake of green technologies, foster innovation, and increase investment in renewable energy.

The Mayor’s Low Carbon Prize, which is sponsored by Siemens, challenges the capital's students to come up with innovative ideas to cut carbon emissions and boost London's green credentials.

A week before the awards ceremony, the finalists were called on to pitch their ideas to judging panel which included one of the stars of BBC's Dragons' Den Deborah Meaden, Innocent Drinks founder Richard Reed, and Zak Goldsmith MP and Siemens UK CEO Roland Aurich.

Student winner James Winfield said: “Dominic and I had already agreed before entering the competition that we would take a stab at starting a business, and this amazing result has really affirmed that decision”

“The entire process has been fantastic – having the opportunity to present our ideas in front of a panel of major business players was a terrifying but exhilarating experience and we’re thrilled that the judges were impressed with out pitch and saw promise in our idea”

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “The incredible students behind these green innovations are the future leaders who will be powering London’s booming green economy. I look forward to seeing these students develop and succeed - they will help shape London’s economic future.” 

James and Dominic were one of five Imperial student teams, including one joint entry with the Royal College of Art, to reach be shortlisted for the prize this year - meaning that Imperial students represented half of the total ten finalists.

Other Imperial entries included a modular smart watch which would never need to be replaced, cartoon carbon fighting super-heroes to encourage the next generation to use energy more responsibly, a system to automate the lighting of London office buildings and an initiative to use commuters as couriers.

Photos provided by Siemens.