Smogathon semi-finalists L to R: Last mile electric ground transport, Biomass 2 char process and transport, catalytic converter laser sensors, electric airplanes, MowGreen electric lawncare, & Smogathon Facilitator.
2nd and 3rd from right, the two companies (Takachar and Indrio) who went to the next round from Berkeley, to the finals in Poland, won 1st and 2nd place respectively.
Kevin Kung, a PHD graduate from MIT, leads Takachar, 1st place winners, with promising plans for better harvesting of biomass into renewable energy. Indrio boasted potential for catalytic converter sensors that were many times more effective than today’s standards for the same price, which would dramatically reduce auto emissions.
MowGreen’s presence in the competition obviates the issue with gasoline based lawn care and green house gases. Small gas engine lawn gear makes 10% of U.S. air pollution because it is 10 to 20 times more polluting per gallon than in a car.
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My favorite part of the trip was that I also got a chance to visit with family and friends in the San Francisco area. My nephews Eli and Willem Delventhal live right around the corner, and I stayed with my old Uconn buddy Bob Aragon and his wife Moi just upstate a bit, in Castro Valley.
