Challenge winner visits Dogger Bank
Harris, a ten year old inventor from South Shields in South Tyneside, knows all too well the importance of monitoring our seas and keeping an eye on ocean life.
To aid in this critical part of conserving our environment, he invented Hi Fish. This piece of technology moves using a propeller as it trawls the sea bed capturing fish and animals and monitoring things like levels of coral bleaching, fish population, and performs temperature checks.
Crucially, the propeller generates sustainable wind energy which is in turn used by the invention to glide around, adding to the numerous benefits of this idea. Utilising a discreet size and shape also means Harris's creation wouldn't cause too many waves amongst a fleet of aquatic peers.
It's clear to see why Harris was a well-deserved winner of the second iteration of our Powering the Future: South Tyneside and Beyond! challenge.
The challenge uses renewable energy as a springboard for invention, as children across years 5 and 6 in South Tyneside have been inventing using wind power and kinetic energy.
In addition to promoting STEM learning and inducing a creative spark in young people, we aimed to educate them about renewable energy's vital role in the fight against climate change.
The challenge was delivered in collaboration with our fantastic partners Dogger Bank Wind Farm and South Tyneside Council.
Dogger Bank is a project of colossal scope and importance. It is set to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, located just off the North East Coast. It's capacity will be such that it will be capable of powering up to six million homes annually.
Hi Fish is being brought to life by North Star. They operate the largest UK-owned fleet engaged in the UK’s offshore industry in the North Sea. Their clients rely on their advanced vessels and the experience of their highly trained crews.
To witness the real-life model of his idea, Harris and his dad visited the Dogger Bank Wind Farm operations base in Port of Tyne. There they enjoyed a tour of the base and explored one of the Dogger Bank service vessels Grampian Derwent.
Harris said of his invention: "It was interesting to learn about the things being done in our seas and oceans. Hi Fish is an environmentally friendly invention to help monitor coral reefs without needing batteries or diesel to power a lot of machinery.
It’s important that when we sort out problems in the environment, we don’t make them worse or create other problems. New inventions made to help solve issues must be carbon-neutral and use renewable energy whenever possible.”
North Star Operations Director, Steve Myers, said: “We were so impressed with Harris’ invention that we had to select it. It’s fantastic to see this competition inspire such innovative and exciting ideas, while supercharging the interest of youngsters in the offshore renewables sector.
With so many career opportunities on our doorstep, getting youngsters excited about marine engineering is vital to help keep the positive momentum going in our industry.”
Hi Fish will join an impressive cohort of brought-to-life inventions, as the creation of all the challenge winners' ideas is now well underway.
A carefully curated selection of inventions will join Harris's in taking to the streets, skimming along the seas, and even lighting up our skies to help us power the future in a way that is sustainable and kind to planet earth.