The esteemed judging panel for AAPG’s Sustainable Development in Energy Competition recently announced the three winning projects for 2025.
Background: The competition has three phases:
- Students and young professionals ideate, research, and submit proposals for sustainable energy projects that could help reshape energy sectors across the world. They can compete as individuals or teams.
The 2025 competition opened with a free webinar hosted by AAPG SDEC and OSU College of Arts and Sciences and led by research experts. The webinar introduced STEM students and young professionals to the knowledge and skills required to craft compelling and competitive scientific funding proposals.
Applicant teams and individuals then had a little over a month to complete and submit their proposal for consideration. Judges select the top ten teams from the pool of proposals. This year, finalist teams came from countries including India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malawi, and Colombia.
- The top ten finalists spend 12 weeks working through the Venture Lab. Inside the Venture Lab, finalists receive faculty-led coaching, collaborate with industry partners, and learn about investment readiness. They work hard to perfect their project pitches and develop their ideas to be commercially scalable. The 2025 Venture Lab is led by Pro Ally.
- Finalists pitch the judging panel and a winner is selected. Teams and individuals are evaluated on originality, sustainability, and applicability. The first prize winner receives $5,000 to develop and implement their project; Second place receives $3,000; Third place receives $2,000. The winning project must be capable of implementation within one year of receiving funds.
AAPG Foundation and Chevron are proud sponsors of this year’s competition.
2025 Winners
First place: Design and Development of a Modular & Mobile Food Waste Digester for Biomethane & Biofertilizer Generation
Presented by: Team CH4Gen1 (Phillipines)
CH4Gen1 is the world’s first mobile and modular food waste digester. Over a few days, CH4Gen1 transforms household and community food scraps into two products: clean biomethane for energy use and premium biofertilizer for agricultural growth. It provides savings to users while reducing environmental impact.
Second place: Eggshells for Sustainable Mining: REEs and Hydroxyapatite as Byproducts of Geothermal Energy Systems
Presented by: Juan David Palma Montealegre (Colombia)
This project introduces a novel methodology integrating REE recovery and hydroxyapatite synthesis into geothermal systems using recycled eggshells. It offers environmental benefits by reducing waste and invasive mining and offers social benefits through community engagement and local resource reuse. Its circular, low-impact approach bridges clean energy and sustainable mineral extraction.
Third place: Biomass Valorization
Presented by: Team Energon
The project converts agricultural waste into bio-products such as bio-paper, bio-cutlery, green hydrogen, and bio-fertilizers through perovskite photocatalysis. It helps curb stubble burning and plastic pollution and reduces air pollution and deforestation, promoting environmental sustainability.