The Edison Awards winners were announced on March 25, 2020. The Sorbent Polymer Extraction And Remediation System (SPEARS) technology by ecoSPEARS took the gold award for the Energy & Sustainability category.
SPEARS is a NASA-developed green remediation technology consisting of plastic spikes embedded in a scalable geotextile mat liner which, when deployed into contaminated sediments, absorbs legacy toxins such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxin, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F), and other persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from surrounding sediments and porewater “like a sponge”.
SPEARS allow for increased absorption of these toxins, preventing them from becoming reintroduced into surrounding waters or sediments, passively absorbing them into the SPEARS over time. Once the absorption process is complete, the SPEARS are removed from the environment and the toxins trapped inside to enter a secondary destruction process where they are broken down and destroyed via chemical dehalogenation at ambient temperatures and pressures. This prevents the need for the addition of harmful chemicals to destroy the toxins or environmentally destructive methods such as capping or dredging to remove them from the environment.
“We are extremely honored and humbled to be awarded alongside so many other companies bringing smart and innovative solutions to create a better, more sustainable future for the world,” said ecoSPEARS’ Executive Vice President and Co-founder Ian Doromal. “Society is looking at today’s technological and business leaders to address and solve our planet’s most challenging issues. ecoSPEARS remains committed to developing and deploying clean technologies and solutions to help solve these challenges and create a more sustainable future for everyone.”
ecoSPEARS’ Co-founder and President, Sergie Albino, is a former NASA Aerospace Engineer who assisted Drs. Jacqueline Quinn and Phillip Maloney, co-discoverers of the SPEARS technology, in designing and validating the technology at NASA between 2014-2017. Albino formed ecoSPEARS and received the exclusive license to the SPEARS technology from the NASA-Kennedy Space Center Office of Technology Transfer in 2017.
Among the nomination entries comprising the best products, services, and businesses in innovation for the year 2020,?SPEARS was chosen as a winner by a panel of over 3,000 leading business executives from around the world.
“After a thorough review, the Edison Awards Judges recognize SPEARS as a game-changing innovation standing out among the best new products and services launched in their category,” said Frank Bonafilia, Executive Director of the Edison Awards.?
About the Edison Awards: The Edison Awards is the world’s most revered Innovation Award dedicated to recognizing and honoring the best in innovation and innovators since 1987. For more information about the Edison Awards complete program and a list of past winners, visit www.edisonawards.com.