Congratulations to the inaugural Tropical Innovations Awards winners including Machans Beach's own Martin Anton who pulled off the People's Choice award with Aquapax: a system for transporting 1,000 litres of water in an octagonal shaped thick cardboard box with an interior oxygen inner liner barrier bag that prevents it from spoiling.

Masters of Ceremonies Robin Williams of the ABC's Science Show and Sally Dominguez of the New Inventors were both excited at the international calibre of the inventions entered in the awards which we are hoping to be bigger and better next year. The awards showcase and recognise the many inventors in this region

Stanwell & ARUP - Eco Innovation Award.

Pole Power, Grant Behrendorff & David Smyth's Polepower Energy Innovations triumphed in this category with a world first application of curved photo voltaic cells designed to be installed on the thousands of poles around our suburbs and silently generate clean, green electricity from the sun and feed it directly into the electricity network.

WHK & Fisher Adams Kelly - Emerging Innovation

Enviro Fibre, Les Nielsen from Babinda has a plan to produce sugar cane bagasse pulp as a substitute for paper pulp. A by-product of the environmentally sound process is a high quality potash fertilizer. The locally produced pulp product can replace a significant amount of the 350,000 tonnes of pulp imported into Australia annually.

TropLinks - Tropical Innovation

CoolMe Vest, Dr Glen Deakin has invented a disposable personal cooling device designed to limit the effects of heat stress during physical activity in hot and humid environments. The vest promotes rapid recovery in heat stress situations and does not require cooling from an outside source. Fire fighters are eyeing off this invention.

JCU - Innovation of the Year

The Eco Splash System has been developed by Amanda Spelta and the Placid Pool team. It's a water purification system specifically designed for swimming pools ponds and tropical wetlands. The system essentially replicates nature in filtering water and controlling water flow through a natural stone medium, biofilms and aquatic plants. It eliminates the need to use chlorine or pool chemicals.

Other entries included Enviro Fibre, making paper pulp and textiles from sugar cane waste; the Cullector, a retrofitable unit designed to capture the cold water normally wasted during shower warm up time and mix it back into the shower stream during the course of the shower; Banana Blankey, a revolutionary one piece 100 percent fully recyclable packaging insert for bananas and other very soft skinned fruits; and dietary fibres from sugar cane that have wide ranging applications for the global food and health industry. Go to: http://www.tropicalinnovationawards.com.