Solar-powered luminous trees, kinetic energy tiles in the home and washing machines that use rain water were among the ideas to light up an event in Aberdeen yesterday.
About 100 girls from secondary schools in Scotland took part in Shell’s annual Girls in Energy conference.
The event aims to attract girls to the Stem subjects − science, technology, engineering and maths − and encourage them to consider careers in the energy sector.
The girls were split into teams and asked to come up with innovative solutions to power the world of tomorrow.
Six teams made it into the finals and were asked to present their ideas before a panel of judges.
One team suggested designing artificial trees with leaves made from small solar panels. At night, the panels would power lights fitted to the tree.
The winning team, TrainGen, floated the idea of harnessing the wind created by moving trains to generate electricity by placing small turbines in tunnels.
Paul Goodfellow, upstream vice-president for UK & Ireland for Shell, said the event was outstanding and a “wonderful afternoon”.
Mr Goodfellow said: “I saw confidence, ingenuity and teamwork – all the things industry requires, and not just our industry.
“Everything we have in the world started with an idea. I’ve learned we should never cull any idea too early.
“The great challenges we have in our world are around mobility and smart cities. I saw a lot of great ideas for enhancing energy efficiency in mobility and urban space today.”
Oil and Gas UK chief executive Deirdre Michie, who was involved in the judging process, said: “I loved the excitement of today’s event. It was really positive to see girls working together and really understanding what they were trying to do.
“Part of our challenge is to get girls to be thoughtful about Stem subjects. Those subjects can open doors to really great careers and these events give them an opportunity to see that.”
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