Royal College of Art announces shortlisted finalists in Sustainable Markets Initiative’s global Terra Carta Design Lab

This year’s Design Lab has taken its search to a global stage, partnering with the RCA and three other design universities – Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (UAE); National Institute of Design Ahmedabad (India); and Rhode Island School of Design (USA) – and invites current students and recent alumni to develop high-impact solutions to the climate and biodiversity crisis.  

A range of applications from each of these prestigious global design universities have been evaluated by experts from within each institution, and ten finalists shortlisted, with the final review to be led by Sir Jony Ive and Sustainable Markets Initiative CEO Jennifer Jordan-Saifi this summer.

The Royal College of Art’s shortlisted finalists showcase a wide breadth of innovations and solutions to help address climate change and biodiversity loss and explore themes of regenerating nature, reducing waste, engaging communities, and mitigating climate change impacts.

The ten finalists from the Royal College of Art are:

1. Aquafade
   Tackling e-waste with a soluble-on-demand polymer composite which deteriorates in warm water overnight, revolutionising recycling by eliminating costly separation. The Aquafade team: Samuel Wangsaputra [MA Information Experience Design, 2019 | School of Communication].
   
   
2. Biofonic
   Accelerating sustainable agriculture with sonic soil intelligence. The Biofonic team: Alexandra Park and Jasper Mallinson [Both MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering, 2023 | School of Design].
   
   
3. BlueNose
   Developing solutions to improve the aerodynamics of merchant navy vessels, particularly container ships, in order to reduce their fuel consumption by up to 5%. The BlueNose team: Léon Grillet [MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering, 2021 | School of Design].
   
   
4. DeepDive XR
   A collective creating interactive, immersive, gamified and inclusive XR experiences to tackle urgent climate issues. The DeepDive XR team: Janmejay Singh, Armelle Mihailescu, Riya Mihajan and Selin Öztürk [All MA Digital Direction | School of Communication].
   
   
5. Nigh
   Creating large-scale immersive experiences to raise funds and awareness for the protection of our planet. The Nigh team: Paul Baule [MA Digital Direction | School of Communication].
   
   
6. Ponda
   A biomaterials company developing novel textiles from truly regenerative fibres. The Ponda team: Julian Ellis-Brown, Antonia Jara Contreras, Finlay Duncan and Neloufar Taheri [All MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering, 2020 | School of Design].
   
   
7. PulpaTronics
   Recyclable RFID tags for affordable and sustainable inventory management solutions. The PulpaTronics team: Chloe So and Barna Soma Biro [Both MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering, 2023 | School of Design].
   
   
8. Pyri
   An innovative, low-cost wildfire detection system designed with remote, unprepared, and vulnerable communities in mind. The Pyri team: Richard Alexandre, Richard “Blake” Goodwyn, Karina Gunadi, Tanghao Yu [All MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering | School of Design].
   
   
9. SEAGRAFT
   Aimed at restoring seagrass beds in coastal waters, Seagraft provides a highly efficient planting method for seagrass seeds and rhizomes, suitable for mud and sand seabeds. The SEAGRAFT team: Hongyu Wu, Mingchuan Yang, Zexi Gong [All MA Design Products | School of Design], Mengna Gao and Xiaozhuo Jiang [Both MA Service Design | School of Design].
   
   
10. Vox Aeris
    A retrofittable device using acoustic agglomeration technology to drastically reduce the inefficiencies associated with traditional air filtration methods. The Vox Aeris team: Selene Sarı [MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering, 2023 | School of Design].

The Royal College of Art’s expert jury also highly commended two projects:

• Cyanoskin: an innovative living paint designed to transform buildings into carbon dioxide-absorbing structures, reducing emissions and addressing urban pollution. Led by Emma Money [MA Information Experience Design, 2023, RCA School of Communication].
• Selva: helps tropical smallholder farmers validate biodiversity credits through a platform that analyses bioacoustics data. Led by Peter Neyra [MA Design Products, RCA School of Design].

The Terra Carta Design Lab was launched by His Majesty King Charles III, then HRH The Prince of Wales, and former Apple Chief Design Officer Sir Jony Ive in 2021 in partnership with the Royal College of Art.

Eight overall winners (two from each university) will be announced this autumn and will receive funding and mentorship to further develop their innovations, enabling them to be scaled and taken to market.