JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AFP)— Britain’s Prince William on Wednesday honoured projects seeking novel solutions to the challenges facing the world’s nature and climate at the awarding of his Earthshot Prize in South Africa.

Each of the five projects, which include one converting heat from industrial plants into electricity, received one million pounds ($1.3 million) at the prize’s fourth awards ceremony, held this year in Cape Town.

It marks the first time the ceremony has been held in Africa.

“The continent, despite contributing the least to global warming, is the most vulnerable to its impact,” William told the ceremony.

Besides the heir to the British throne, the jury included actor Cate Blanchett, former PepsiCo group chief executive Indra Nooyi and Nigerian Director-General of the World Trade Organisation Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Among the winners was US company Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems, whose compact thermovoltaic panels can be used to convert heat generated by the cement and steel industries into electricity.

The inventors stumbled upon the innovation by chance: the company’s founders were originally developing solar panels.

But when they realised that their panels were producing electricity without the sun’s rays, they decided to shift their focus to thermovoltaics.

Kenyan company Keep IT Cool was likewise awarded for its solar-powered electric coolers for fishers.

Those portable iceboxes help maintain cold-storage conditions even when far away from the energy grid, greatly reducing food waste while supporting the incomes of those in fishing.

“We are here to champion the dreamers, the thinkers and the innovators from every walk of life who share an ambition to build a better, more sustainable world,” William added.

Previous awards ceremonies for the Earthshot Prize took place in Singapore last year, Boston in 2022 and London in 2021.