
Solar Sailor are inventors and developers of 'solarsail' and 'hybrid marine power' technologies, suitable for a wide range of applications from small unmanned vessels to large tankers including ferries, cruisers and yachts.
The awards are sponsored by The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, California, one of the USA's premier science and technology museums, and presented by Applied Materials. Solar Sailor was selected from hundreds of nominations from 68 countries.
Solar Sailor uses modern science to re-invent the centuries-old wind-powered ship.
Their sail harnesses sea winds to move a boat, while also serving as a solar panel to feed batteries in a hybrid diesel engine. Multiple sources of power make the boats more reliable and safer than standard diesel engines, and reduce fuel use by up to 90 per cent for environmentally smart sea travel.
"The Tech Awards are an incredible honor, recognizing individuals and organizations whose ideas and execution of those ideas are changing the world," said former Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, chairman of Solar Sailor.