York students have been head hunted by the UK CEO of Microsoft for their competition entry that uses technology to create sustainable energy.

On Wednesday, May 3, four students from Fulford School sixth form won a prestigious 'Innovation Award' and a £1,000 prize for their entry into the PA Consulting Raspberry Pi competition, in London.

Kieran Wales, Jonathan Broster, Zak Morgan, and Sam Hulse presented their invention 'HydroHeat' to the panel of judges featuring tech CEOs, entrepreneurs, policy makers, and investors, who grilled each entry on their research, innovation, and business plan.

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As a spokesperson for Fulford School explained: "All cloud computing services and websites require data centres which contain computers that are always switched on.

"These computers consume electricity and also generate heat which is often extracted using cooling systems that require even more energy.

"The HydroHeat works by using renewable solar energy to power a small data centre located in a community venue such as a swimming pool, school or university.

"Waste energy from the data centre is then extracted and used to heat the swimming pool, potentially saving leisure centres up to £20,000 per year.

"The data centres themselves can be used to support local businesses, helping them make the most of cloud computing and AI technology without the data privacy concerns linked to sharing sensitive data with the big international tech companies."

The judges were "blown away" by the potential to save resources whilst also generating revenue that supports local investment in community enterprises, said the spokesperson.

Fulford School's Head of Computing, Pete Dring, who accompanied the students to London along with Mr Goodall from Huntington School, said the UK CEO of Microsoft has since head hunted the students to follow up on their idea.

He said: "Every team at the competition had an inspiring idea and then worked hard for months to turn them into fully working solutions.

"HydroHeat stood out as both a great idea and a talented team of engineers, innovators and communicators." 

Kieran and Jonathan said that they: "loved having the opportunity to use (their) skills to develop a technological solution to transform server heat for a greener tomorrow”.

PA Consulting organised the competition as a celebration of STEM education, giving schoolchildren the tools and opportunity to invent products that can benefit society.