Energy Chamber announces finalists for Innovation & Technology Challenge 2026

2026-01-25 - 21:09

THE Energy Chamber has announced the finalists of the Innovation & Technology Challenge 2026. The challenge takes place at the TT Energy Conference on January 27. At that time, the five finalists will present their innovations, after which conference delegates, comprised of energy sector executives and industry experts, will vote on the most innovative project. In the past, finalists and winners have gone on to receive international awards and recognition for their projects. In 2026, 12 applications were received and reviewed by an expert committee comprising Emerson John Charles, chair of the Innovation Association of TT; Julian Henry, Director of the Office of Institutional Advancement and Internationalisation at the University of the West Indies; and Crispin Chatar, Consultant. The top five applications were selected to move forward. Minister of Planning, Economic Affairs and Development and Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Dr Kennedy Swaratsingh will present the award to the winner of the Innovation Challenge at the conference. In 2026, the following projects were selected (in no particular order): * Vetiver TT Ecological Engineering Solutions Ltd – High-performance, low-energy wastewater treatment system engineered for Caribbean industrial waste streams This innovation combines horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands with targeted microbial inoculants to create a high-performance, low-energy wastewater treatment system engineered for Caribbean industrial waste streams. The system is a new-to-region adaptation designed specifically for tropical leachate, high iron concentrations, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and suspended solids commonly found in Trinidad’s landfills and industrial sites. * Blewcoast: BlewLedger – GHG Emissions Management Platform BlewLedger is an audit-grade GHG emissions management platform tailored for the Caribbean, supporting accurate collection, analysis, and management of GHG emission data. It uniquely combines global scientific standards (IPCC/GHG Protocol) while addressing critical regional gaps ignored by generic global tools. Supported by an integrated Sustainability Operating Management System (SOMS), it merges Scientific measurement, Accounting, and Assurance (SAS) into one turnkey framework. With customized performance tracking and robust analytics for products, projects, and entities, decision-making is driven by sustainability data with the same control and accuracy as financial data. * Sky Clarity Limited – Automated Machine Learning Predictive Maintenance Engine PM Pilot is a proprietary predictive maintenance platform designed to eliminate unplanned downtime in the energy sector. The system transforms existing operational data into clear, plain-English insights that support faster, more confident decision-making at the plant and strategic level. Unlike traditional predictive analytics tools that depend on constant connectivity or specialist data science teams, PM Pilot is designed to run locally at remote and offshore facilities, delivering near-instant recommendations where connectivity and response time matter most. Using a specialised correlation engine, the platform identifies hidden degradation trends, forecasts equipment health, and supports optimized operating strategies long before alarms or catastrophic failures occur. * Caribbean Gas Chemical Limited – Operational Philosophy Innovations for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reduction. This submission presents two integrated operational philosophy innovations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption at our methanol production facility. The first innovation involves operating the plant with the natural-gas booster compressor fully bypassed. Through engineering analysis and operational redesign, we identified that stable and reliable production could be maintained without the compressor, resulting in an electricity reduction of approximately 20,000 MWh annually. This equates to an annual reduction of over 10,000 tCO2e (tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent). The second innovation optimizes steam-generation performance by operating with only one of the two auxiliary boilers under normal conditions. This new strategy minimizes fuel consumption (an annual reduction of over 4,000 kNm3 of Natural Gas), reduces steam venting, and improves overall thermal efficiency. This equates to an annual reduction of approximately 8,500 tCO2e. * Navin Seeterram & Associates: Smart Mountain - Utilising AI, blockchain and dMRV technology to develop decarbonisation and climate finance digital rails to commercialise capex-constrained projects Smart Mountain is a startup project developing a digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) platform that enables T&T’s ammonia, fertilizer, and petrochemical producers to meet EU/UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) compliance requirements while unlocking carbon finance for CAPEX-constrained decarbonizing projects. The platform integrates three capabilities: (1) automated, audit-ready quarterly CBAM reporting from plant data and satellite-enabled monitoring; (2) ROI modeling tools that simulate decarbonization investment payback under CBAM price volatility; and (3) a multi-stakeholder governance dashboard linking producers, regulators, and project developers.