Innovation award for low-energy tech firm
SKELMERSDALEBASED technology company Extreme Low Energy (ELe) has won a major prize at this year’s Energy Institute Awards.
The firm, which recently moved to new headquarters in the town, was presented with the 2017 Energy Institute Innovation Award by England Rugby Union World Cup winner Matt Dawson MBE at a ceremony in London.
Its project to install revolutionary low-energy PCs at two Merseyside schools was hailed by the judges as this year’s most innovative, beating competition from UK and overseas companies.
Prof John Loughhead OBE, the Government’s chief scientific adviser at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, led the Innovation Award judging panel.
Mark Buchanan, founder and owner of ELe, said: “We’re delighted and proud to have received this significant award for innovation and recognition from the Energy Institute, having beaten strong competition from the UK, Canada and the Middle East.
“Our project related to reducing energy consumption for ICT in schools, delivering a simplified, more manageable, ICT suite and offering new learning and teaching opportunities alongside a richer digital experience.
“ICT infrastructures are already responsible for a significant proportion of electricity consumed, typically around 25% of an organisation’s energy usage, so we looked to develop a solution to help schools address these challenges whilst fulfilling the increasing technological demands of the curriculum.”
This latest recognition follows previous award wins for ELe in the Great Faces of British Business Competition, Merseyside Innovation Awards and Liverpool ECHO Green Champions Awards.
For the winning project, ELe and its partner HiImpact worked to install a DC infrastructure and overhaul the existing computer systems within Wirral primary schools Bedford Drive and Holy Trinity, significantly reducing their energy use and carbon footprints.
ELe’s DC micro-grid systems for schools typically use 70% less energy than existing technologies and, when combined with the firm’s battery systems, can eliminate the need for mains electricity.