Prince William Unveils Finalists for the Fourth Earthshot Prize in New Video: 'True Inspirations'

The winners of this year's Earthshot Prize will be unveiled in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 6

Prince William is ushering in the next wave of groundbreaking solutions to help save the planet.

On Sept. 24, the Prince of Wales revealed the 15 finalists for his passion project, The Earthshot Prize . The winners, who will compete for a $1.3 million prize to scale their ventures, will be announced at a gala in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 6. Notably, three of this year's finalists hail from the U.S.

In a video to announce the finalists, shot earlier this month in Windsor, William (sporting his new beard!), "I'm delighted to introduce you to this year's 15 new Earthshot Prize finalists. These solutions are some of the most exciting, innovative and impactful we've seen, and the people behind them are true inspirations. I know you're as passionate as I am about making a difference to our planet, and we can't wait to share their stories with you."

The announcement was made at the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York City, co-hosted by The Earthshot Prize and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg addressed the event. Matt Damon , José Andrés (who is a new member of William's judging council for the prize) and Jane Fonda are among those set to speak.

The Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit is taking place in N.Y.C. at the same time that Prince William's brother, Prince Harry , is in the city for several meetings related to causes he supports. Prince William wasn't in attendance in person, so the brothers didn't cross paths.

Now in its fourth year, The Earthshot Prize continues its 10-year mission to identify and support visionary individuals and businesses with scalable solutions to combat environmental damage. The prize's influence is growing rapidly, as this year's 15 finalists were selected from nearly 2,500 entries across 139 countries—the largest pool of applicants in the prize's history, according to William's organization.

"Today, we celebrate the incredible achievement, unwavering dedication and urgent optimism that drives our fourth class of Earthshot innovators," William, who is both founder and president of The Earthshot Prize, added in a statement. "The passion of these finalists is a testament to what can be achieved when we tap into the enormous creativity, ingenuity and optimism of communities around the world."

"Representing every corner of the globe, these finalists are leading the way in solving some of the most urgent environmental challenges," the statement continued. "Their groundbreaking work is inspiring hope and action as we work to create a sustainable future for generations to come."

Related: Prince William Taps Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Friend Chef José Andrés for Earthshot Prize Role

There are three finalists in each of The Earthshot Prize's five categories: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Ocean, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate. The three U.S. finalists are Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) in the Build a Waste Free World category and both Equatic and Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems in the Fix Our Climate section.

NFW creates biodegradable natural fibers and ingredients to replace plastics with wide applications across fashion, footwear and automotive industries, and CEO Luke Haverhals explains in the new video, "If the products you buy come from nature, they can end well by going back to nature."

Equatic, for its part, uses a process called seawater electrolysis to remove carbon dioxide from the ocean 99,000 times faster than nature can. Advanced Thermovoltaic Systems takes excess heat from heavy industrial processes and converts it into electricity.

The other finalist in Fix Our Climate is Build Up Nepal, a social enterprise that has developed an earthquake-resilient brick with 75% lower carbon emissions compared to traditional clay-fired bricks.

In Build a Waste Free World, France's Ferment'Up upcycles skins and seeds from fruits and vegetables to create nutritious ingredients while cutting carbon emissions and reducing water use in the process. Keep It Cool, from Kenya, tackles the issue of refrigeration and cold-chain logistics across Africa by using solar-powered solutions, cutting post-harvest waste by 25% and connecting small farm and fisheries to a centralized online marketplace.

In the Protect and Restore Nature category, Ecuador's Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance is an alliance of 30 indigenous nations that protects 86 million acres of critical Amazon rainforest; NatureMetrics, from the U.K, is a global intelligence startup in environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling which hopes to make biodiversity monitoring accessible to all, thereby identifying species populations and reporting environmental and conservation impacts; and Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative from Kazakhstan, which has brought the Saiga antelope back from the brink of extinction.

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Clean Our Air finalists include GAYO Ghana, a youth-led organization that uses its "zero waste model" in waste management practices across Africa that cut greenhouse gas emissions and p pollution while bringing additional income to communities; d.light, a Pan-Africa company on track to transform the lives of one billion people by providing affordable and clean solar home systems; and Indonesia's MYCL, which tackles crop-waste burning and harmful leather production, both of which pollute the air and damage quality of life. MYCL uses a unique mushroom base to break down crop waste and convert it into a leather alternative.

Finally, in Revive Our Oceans, High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People is a global alliance of 119 countries aiming to protect 30% of the land and oceans by 2030; MiAlgae, a company from the U.K. which uses a patented fermentation process and whisky by-products to grow nutrient-rich microalgae as a direct source of Omega-3s for aquaculture feed; and Coast 4C from Philippines, a social enterprise that aims to build the world's largest supply of regenerative seaweed, benefiting marginalized coastal fishing communities and lifting them out of poverty.

Along with Prince William, the council tasked with choosing the winners includes Queen Rania of Jordan, Cate Blanchett, Sir David Attenborough, Indra Nooyi, designer Stella McCartney, chef José Andrés, Wanjira Mathai, Nemonte Nenquimo, Luisa Neubauer, Naoko Yamazaki, Ernest Gibson and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

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