Israeli, Finnish scientists win 1 mln USD for innovation in alternative fuels

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday two scientists as winners of a 1 million U.S. dollar prize for innovation in fuel alternatives for transportation.

Doron Aurbach from Israel and Lars Peter Lindfors from Finland are the two winners.

The prime minister's prize in this field is awarded for the sixth consecutive year. This is the highest prize money in the world of alternative energy and bears the name of South African donors Eric and Sheila Samson.

The two winners, chosen by an international expert committee, have been awarded a prize for the development of technologies that potentially serve as a substitute for transport fuels.

Aurbach, from Bar-Ilan University in the center of the state, is the first Israeli winner of this award ever. He won the award for groundbreaking contribution to the development of new batteries, including magnesium-based battery.

His research has a great potential to propel electric cars and thus substitute for fossil fuel.

Lindfors and his team, from Finland's oil refining and marketing company, have developed innovative methods to make bio-diesel fuel from organic waste materials, such as animal oils and used cooking oils.

Netanyahu said that "Israel has become a center of knowledge, research, industry and technology in the field of fuel substitutes and smart transportation. Awarding the prize to an Israeli researcher is a proof of that."

The prize will be awarded on Oct. 29, as part of the annual Smart Mobility Summit in the coastal city of Tel Aviv.