Christensen, a Long River, P.E.I. native and recent Masters’ graduate from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, is part of a team of four finalists in the G20 Global Business Challenge.
Top prize? $100,000 and some serious bragging rights.
“I’m so excited about this,” laughed Christensen during a recent interview.
Their challenge?
Solve, at least part of, the world’s fresh water shortage.
No biggie.
But for Christensen, currently working for Nalcor Energy in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador on the Muskrat Falls hydro megaproject, it’s just another problem to solve; something she thrives on.
“It’s just something new. A new challenge,” she said.
Her team beat out several others from all over the world to reach the finals in Brisbane, Australia. They leave Oct. 29.
They decided to tackle the biggest challenge facing the world’s fresh water supply: agriculture.
“What we wanted to do was essentially remove the reliance on fresh water on the agricultural industry,” she said.
“We figured we’d use sea water.”
Salt water, while more available than fresh water, can’t be used for agriculture because of its salt content.
But Christensen and her team have come up with a way, using several cutting edge technologies, to desalinate water cheaply and pump it into irrigation systems.
“What I love about our solution is that it’s so simple. Nothing overly complicated … and as a result it won’t be super expensive to implement,” she said.
The basic premise is that salt water will be pumped inland using a wave powered pump (new technology), which feeds it into a special kind of pipe (also new technology) that would be buried under a field. This piping only allows water molecules to escape out into soil, leaving behind salt and other toxins to be pushed back out to sea.
“At first it seemed like a really daunting task we were given. But the fact that the four of us from such diverse backgrounds could come together and work together towards this solution we think can actually work is pretty incredible,” she said.
It’s an exciting concept, she added, and one she’s happy to have been a part of, regardless of what happens in Australia.
Anyone who would like to know more about the G20 Global Business Challenge can visit its website at: http://g20gbc.org
@JournalPMacLean
Christensen, a Long River, P.E.I. native and recent Masters’ graduate from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, is part of a team of four finalists in the G20 Global Business Challenge.
Top prize? $100,000 and some serious bragging rights.
“I’m so excited about this,” laughed Christensen during a recent interview.
Their challenge?
Solve, at least part of, the world’s fresh water shortage.
No biggie.
But for Christensen, currently working for Nalcor Energy in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador on the Muskrat Falls hydro megaproject, it’s just another problem to solve; something she thrives on.
“It’s just something new. A new challenge,” she said.
Her team beat out several others from all over the world to reach the finals in Brisbane, Australia. They leave Oct. 29.
They decided to tackle the biggest challenge facing the world’s fresh water supply: agriculture.
“What we wanted to do was essentially remove the reliance on fresh water on the agricultural industry,” she said.
“We figured we’d use sea water.”
Salt water, while more available than fresh water, can’t be used for agriculture because of its salt content.
But Christensen and her team have come up with a way, using several cutting edge technologies, to desalinate water cheaply and pump it into irrigation systems.
“What I love about our solution is that it’s so simple. Nothing overly complicated … and as a result it won’t be super expensive to implement,” she said.
The basic premise is that salt water will be pumped inland using a wave powered pump (new technology), which feeds it into a special kind of pipe (also new technology) that would be buried under a field. This piping only allows water molecules to escape out into soil, leaving behind salt and other toxins to be pushed back out to sea.
“At first it seemed like a really daunting task we were given. But the fact that the four of us from such diverse backgrounds could come together and work together towards this solution we think can actually work is pretty incredible,” she said.
It’s an exciting concept, she added, and one she’s happy to have been a part of, regardless of what happens in Australia.
Anyone who would like to know more about the G20 Global Business Challenge can visit its website at: http://g20gbc.org
@JournalPMacLean
