Mission: Tackling deforestation
The What: What started as a curiosity about why solar panels were confined to roofs has propelled Naila Moloo to become an award-winning inventor, author and Podcast host–all by the age of 17. Soon after Moloo was developing flexible plastic-free solar cells leveraging nanomaterials to allow solar energy to be more portable, the Grade 11 student was encouraged by a mentor to focus more attention on the root cause of plastic pollution. Moloo began researching existing bioplastics that come from corn and sugar cane and quickly learned that they use fossil fuels, aren’t biodegradable and deplete necessary crops for humans and livestock. So the innovator began to look for other alternatives and discovered duckweed – the fastest growing aquatic species in the world. A duckweed-based bioplastic has many advantages: Duckweed grows quickly, (doubling its biomass in as little as 16 hours), humans don’t consume it, it is the smallest flowering plant known to Earth and it grows on every continent except Antarctica.
The Impact: Moloo’s flexible plastic-free solar panels have the potential to revolutionize the tech industry (think smartphones), and you could be wearing duckweed-based running shoes (or other fashionable plastic-free garments sometime soon.
A View from the Top: The youngest recipient of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women
Fun Fact: Moloo has written two fictional books: “Chronicles of Illusions: The Blue Wild,” and “Chronicles of Illusions: Bound by Dream” and is currently working on a third.
Sound Advice: “Get involved in your own projects in the climate space intersecting your interests whether it’s art, science, fashion, etc.”
What’s Next? “I see progress in fusion energy!”
The Call To Action: “Get involved in your own projects in the climate space intersecting your interests – whether they be art, science, fashion, etc.”
To See the other 2024 Change Maker Award Winner click on their name below:
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