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Face mask for cows among finalists for Prince Charles' climate crisis prize

Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales

The Prince of Wales’ prize to save the planet has unveiled its 20 finalists, including a funeral reef, seaweed paper and a face mask for cows.

The Terra Carter Design Lab, launched by the Prince and Sir Jony Ive, has whittled 125 submissions from students down to a final list of ideas to best solve the “climate crisis”.

They include a computer game to simulate saving the arctic ice, a new textile to make environmentally-friendly sports clothes and technology which mimics how Saharan silver ants keep cool in the desert.

One project, called ZELP, involves a “wearable device” for cows which looks like a face mask covering the animal’s nose. It is designed to “neutralise methane emissions in real time” for some of the 1.6 billion cattle on Earth.

Funding for four designs

The four final winning designs will receive funding, as well as mentoring from Sir Jony and an introduction to a network of potential developers through the Prince’s Sustainable Markets Initiative.

The award echoes the aims of the Prince’s elder son the Duke of Cambridge, whose Earthshot Prize awards five £1 million sums each year to the best initiatives tackling the most serious problems facing the planet.

The Terra Carta Design Lab is run in partnership with the Royal College of Art, with submissions coming from students and alumni.

The winners will be chosen by a panel including the Prince of Wales; Sir Jony; Dr Paul Thompson, vice-chancellor of the RCA; Professor Sir David King; and representatives of the Terra Carta Design Lab partners.

Sir Jony, chancellor of the Royal College of Art, said: “The Design Lab is a visionary and imaginative way of helping address the increasingly urgent climate crisis – the greatest design challenge we face.

“This work demonstrates the ingenuity and creative brilliance of RCA students, and I am so very excited to see these concepts develop.”

Art and science combine to 'tackle global challenges'

Dr Thompson added: “This shortlist shows the potent alchemy of bringing together the arts and sciences to tackle urgent global challenges.”

The competition is part of the Prince’s Sustainable Markets Initiative, launched at Davos in 2020 as a “global coalition of the willing who share the vision around the need to accelerate global progress towards a sustainable future”.

“The Terra Carta Design Lab submissions demonstrate the urgent need for collaboration between design, art, science and engineering to produce viable and innovative solutions to the climate crisis,” a spokesman said.

Another entry, the "Resting Reef", promises a "meaningful funeral service and cemetery that regenerates marine biodiversity" by combining an eco-friendly burial which supports the restoration of rapidly-depleting oyster reefs.

Other shortlisted projects include “Race for the Arctic”, an adventure documentary game that immerses players in trying to avert a climate catastrophe.

More than 2,300 RCA students with an average age of 27, drawn from over 70 different countries, were invited to enter the competition in teams.