Advanced Clean Energies (ACE)

Advanced Clean Energies (ACE) was formed as part of the Young Enterprise Scheme at the very end of 2010. The Young Enterprise Scheme is an experimental business programme where secondary students set up a company, create real products or services, and make real profit or loss.

The 2011 St Thomas' team, ACE, consisting of members James Agnew, Stephen Pilton, Andrew Coburn, Sam Mackwell, Sean Feast and Craig Stanton had large boots to fill given the success of the college's team, Oceanic Fusion, in 2010 where they won the top national award. ACE is coached by enterprise teacher Mr David Ivory and mentored by Mr Keith Yardley and Mr Andrew Dallas who are both well respected old boys of the college and successful businessmen. The team sat down at the first meeting, some of us not knowing each other and very dubious about what we were getting ourselves into.

ACE Directors with Mentors Andrew Dallas and Keith Yardley

As we met for the first time in December at the PSA offices in Christchurch's CBD we knew little of what was going to happen in the next couple of months. After experiencing September we thought all the earthquake drama was over, oh how we thought wrong!

The idea, born out of the adversity caused by the September 2010 earthquake and developed further following the devastation caused on February 22^nd is an emergency power generator, named "The Lion." After twenty odd prototypes were developed in Sam's back shed, the true masterpiece of kiwi ingenuity was finally born. The Lion emergency power generator is designed so that it can use wasted energy, such as the steam from boiling water, to generate electricity to power emergency items including a high powered light, mobile phones and radios.

Directors at Mitre 10 - Hornby

In March, the team gained there first piece of media attention when The Press ran an article on the team and the resilient product that we were trying to create. This story which was also published in the Dominion Post in Wellington was one of the first feel good stories to come out of the earthquake and several flow-on effects were imminent. The team was contacted by a number of commercial entities, namely Kathmandu, Mitre10 Mega and Meridian Energy. Each of these entities were very interested in our product and wanted to offer help. Radio New Zealand National ran a live interview with one of our team members.

A few weeks after the article the team was sitting in Kathmandu's head office meeting with the design team behind many of their successful outdoor products. The team provided us with some great ideas on further developing the product and also gave us quality business advice. We will be appearing in the Kathmandu Summit Club Newsletter in the coming months.

After months of developing and finessing "The Lion" it was finally market ready in June. The team had product demonstrations at Kathmandu Tower Junction and then at Mitre 10 Mega Hornby where it is being sold at. If it wasn't for Mitre 10 Mega we would have nowhere to sell the emergency generator and would still be thinking ideas.

The team launched their product in August at school, the day began with a powhiri and a moving whole school haka to welcome the team and guests which included former prime minister and now head of the United Nations Development Programme, Helen Clark, businessman Peter Shirtcliffe, a number of MP's and past mentors of other teams. The day brought the team much more welcome media attention. Again The Press wrote an article as did many local newspapers, we appeared in Megan Woods' labour party newsletter, the Catholic Education website. From this Mitre10 Mega Hornby, who stock our product sold out within days and they requested more.

We got back to work making a few slight amendments to "The Lion" to make it more professional and contemporary looking. As exams approach the product has been put on hold as all the students must focus on them carefully. Once exams are complete the new pride of Lion's will be market ready and be sold under the name "The Lion Advance."

The enterprise year has been like no other before. With the major disruptions caused by around four weeks of missed school time and the issue of having to site share for half of the year the team has worked around the clock in order to achieve success. At the business oral presentations in May, ACE was placed first in two of the categories, business practice and people and also innovation.

We thank all those who helped us throughout the year, Kathmandu, Mitre10 Mega Hornby, Tait Radio Communications, Meridian Energy, DHL who sent our product to Africa, our mentors and of course our teacher Mr Ivory who is held in high regard by the team.

The Results:

ACE -  Regional Awards:

Supreme Canterbury Regional Winner

Science Alive Award for Technology: St Thomas of Canterbury College - Advanced Clean Technologies

University of Canterbury - College of Business - Enterprise Student of the Year - James Agnew.

ACE - National Awards:

The individual and collective results realised by the ACE team were outstanding.

James Agnew was awarded the title, Student Managing Director of the Year (2011) by NZCIA. This was the first time this award was offered and James was subjected to a rigorous assessment process. This award was presented at the Wellington Town Hall, at a Black Tie dinner, on the 30^th November 2011. James was accompanied by Sam Mackwell, Design and Production Director for ACE.

The ACE team was acknowledged the following night of 1st December 2011, Acorn Hotel Wellington, in the company of leading business people. Earlier the team had competed with other regional winners and was awarded with the supreme title of the Todd Corporation Award for National Business Excellence. Further two national excellence awards were secured. The MOVAC National Award for Business Growth Potential and the External Affairs and Trade Award for Aid Development to an Overseas County. Students sat with the United States Ambassador and Mike McRoberts the compare for the evening.  This was an unprecedented success and such awards have never being realised by a single school in one evening in the thirty year history of the YES National Awards.

Students featured on a variety of media including Television One News, National Radio, The Dominion and two articles in The Press (on the following Saturday).

The next day for breakfast a special breakfast was attended at the trendy Wellington café known as Pravda. The teams tow mentors Andrew Dallas and Keith Yardley attended, YES Teacher David Ivory and College Principal Christine O'Brien. Next students visited the New Zealand Public Service Association (PSA) who were a national purchaser of Lions for their offices, and had a special lunch at Parliament hosted by Lianne Dalziel.  

An extraordinary year of enterprise.

Stephen Pilton           ACE Director