Prince William hailed “amazing” eco-friendly start-up technology businesses in London on Thursday.
The Prince of Wales was shown building material made from food waste during a visit to Sustainable Ventures, a working space that helps fund and support green firms.
“It’s amazing and shows, if we put our minds to something, what we can discover,” he remarked.
The prince met representatives of businesses such as ENSO, which has created a more efficient electric vehicle tyre reducing harmful particles worn off during travel.
ENSO was among the finalists of this year’s Earthshot Prize, established by Prince William to find solutions to “repair” the planet.
Founder Gunnlaugur Erlendsson said, after showing the prince a taxi that had the tyres, that the recognition has helped the business.
The prince was also shown thermal imaging used to detect heat loss from buildings anywhere on Earth by firm SatVu.
He later joined a discussion with start-ups to hear how Sustainable Ventures is helping them to expand.
Among them was AirEx, which created the world’s first smart air brick to reduce home energy bills, and Depop, an online platform which allows users to buy and sell vintage and second-hand clothing.
Since 2011, Sustainable Ventures, based in County Hall near the Houses of Parliament, has supported more than 500 businesses, including Notpla, one of the 2022 Earthshot Prize winners.
It is called the centre of the UK’s climate tech revolution and the largest hub of its type in Europe.
“The Prince of Wales is known for his dedication to sustainability,” said Andrew Wordsworth, managing partner of Sustainable Ventures, who showed Prince William around.
“It’s inspiring for Sustainable Ventures’ members to know that someone of his influence understands that they need to scale to have impact in the next decade.
“He has shown by his actions that we need optimistic solutions in a world dominated by negative headlines.”
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Opening Rugby Championship fixtures:Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
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