Thanks to everyone who voted for the #Penguin Foundation in the #GlobalImpactChallenge! They won a $250K grant for their project, which will help them further develop the technology of using iron particles and a magnetic wand to remove oil from oiled animals. This could be a real game changer in the rehabilitation of oiled wildlife. Heres the press release from the Penguin Foundation: Oil Spill Wand receives Google grant Wildlife affected by oil spills will soon have access to dry cleaning thanks to a $250k Google grant awarded to the Penguin Foundation for new technology being developed in Victoria, Australia. The technology, dubbed the ‘Oil Spill Wand’, works when iron powder is applied to an oiled animal and binds with the oil. A magnetic wand is then waved over the animal, drawing up the metallic powder and oil. Traditional oil spill cleaning methods rely on hot water and detergent, and wildlife are easily stressed while scrubbed clean or transported and housed in special facilities. The technology is part of a joint research and development program being conducted by Dr John Orbell at Victoria University and researchers at the Penguin Foundation and Phillip Island Nature Parks. The project was one of 10 finalists in the Google Impact Challenge Australia - a Google grant competition for charities developing technologies to tackle global problems and transform lives. Four finalists were awarded $500k based on public votes and a judging panel. The remaining six, including the Oil Spill Wand, were awarded $250k from Google. “On behalf of the Penguin Foundation, thank you to everyone who voted for the project during the Google Impact Challenge Australia,” said Dr Peter Dann from the Penguin Foundation. “We’re enormously grateful to Google Australia for their support of the project, and very proud to have reached the top 10 of over 300 entrants.” Oil spills have a devastating effect on the environment but with the funding the team aim to further develop the Oil Spill Wand and dramatically reduce the impact oil spills have on wildlife, including penguins, otters and even turtles. The project team hopes to make the Oil Spill Wand available to Wildlife Rescue Centres across the world within three years.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 13:01:30 +0000