Governors Island Names Next Round of Sustainability Winners
The Trust for Governors Island has selected eight winners in its second Climate Solutions Challenge, which called for entrants to propose ideas to reduce the climate impact of the urban waste stream, while extending resource recovery for businesses and neighborhoods. Each of the designees will receive a grant of $10,000 and a site on Governors Island, along with access to additional funds to support pilot implementation of their proposals. Demonstration projects will be installed on Governors Island this spring, with public “demo days” to be held throughout the year.
“Governors Island has become a meaningful testbed for innovative solutions that will create more resilient and sustainable cities,” said Clare Newman, president of the Trust for Governors Island. “These challenge winners are dedicated to building a better future and to growing their businesses here in New York City. We look forward to all they will learn and accomplish during their time on the island and cannot wait to welcome all New Yorkers to come out and engage with these projects this summer.”
Among the winners that will soon be setting up shop on Governors Island is Arbon, a direct-air-capture company focused on “humidity-swing” technology. Arbon’s devices occupy only a cubic meter, but can capture one ton of carbon dioxide per day. Also awarded a grant was CarbonCLAIR, a company that makes off-grid mobile units to filter carbon dioxide and other outdoor pollutants. They will pilot their off-grid mobile air quality unit at a construction and demolition site on the island. Mira Intel will develop drone-based structural assessments to support building and infrastructure resilience through enhanced monitoring capabilities. And Plantaer will demonstrate a “living concrete façade” technology, which aims to transform urban environments by integrating vegetation directly into building materials.
The competition for the 2026 Climate Solutions Challenge in now in progress, with submissions due May 1. For more information, go to http://nyclimateexchange.org/sustainable-solutions-challenge/.
The New York Climate Exchange, which will begin construction next year on Governors Island and open in 2029, is using the 2026 Challenge to spur innovators, entrepreneurs, and organizations to offer ideas that can be incorporated into planning its four-acre campus, which is now in the early design stage. Proposals are being accepted in four areas: Built Environment and Design (with a focus on “smart materials,” such as those with embedded sensors or dynamic properties, such as self-healing concrete); Infrastructure Systems and Resource Efficiency (including non-conventional renewables, like piezoelectric floors or algae-based bioenergy); Resilient Ecosystems and Landscape Design (which could feature rooftop farms, edible gardens, vertical growing systems, and regenerative soil practices); and a “Wild Card Category” (including carbon capture and sequestration).