August 8, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact: Don Johnson, Project Manager
Phone: 618.382.2525
Email: elastec@elastec.com
http://elastec.com/xprize/index.php
Elastec American Marine Test Date Set
for Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE
Carmi, IL—8/8/11—Elastec/American Marine, a Carmi, IL, manufacturer of water pollution and thermal solid waste
control systems with international success in oil spill recovery equipment, will test their Grooved Disc Skimmer entry in
the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE August 12 through August 18 in Leonardo, New Jersey. Testing for the
Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE is being conducted at OHMSETT—The National Oil Spill Response
Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility. Elastec/American Marine is one of ten finalists out of more than 370 entries
from around the world.
The skimmer was designed to meet and exceed the competition oil recovery rate (ORR) requirement above 2,500 gallons
per minute and an oil recovery efficiency (ORE) of greater than 70% (ORE is the ratio of the volume of oil recovered to the
volume of total fluid recovered). The skimmer will clean a 50-foot wide swath of oil. The winner will receive a $1 million
Grand Prize.
Don Johnson, Project Manager and the Elastec/American Marine team leader for the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X
CHALLENGE explains, “the elegance of our system is that it simply picks up the oil and it deposits the oil in a
containment system. One of the challenges in cleaning up an oil spill is eliminating excess water when recovering oil. The
efficiency of this system eliminates that hurdle.”
Domestic and international patents protect the grooved disc technology. The technology is based on extensive research
conducted by the University of California, Santa Barbara, to improve recovery rates by tailoring the surface geometry of
oleophilic skimmers.
Architecture for the skimmer’s hull was designed by Paul Smith, Senior Principal, Marine Consulting & Finance Director
for Glosten Associates of Seattle, Washington. Power for the system is being provided by TNT Marine, North Miami,
Florida.
“It is definitely the largest skimmer we have ever manufactured,” according to Donnie Wilson, president of
Elastec/American Marine. “Next to assisting in the Gulf Oil Spill cleanup, being a finalist in the Wendy Schmidt Oil
Cleanup X CHALLENGE is huge!”
For more information about Elastec American Marine and the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE, visit
http://www.elastec.com/xprize.
ABOUT THE WENDY SCHMIDT OIL CLEANUP X CHALLENGE
The $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE is a competition designed to inspire a new generation of
innovative solutions that will speed the pace of cleaning up seawater surface oil resulting from spillage from ocean
platforms, tankers, and other sources. It is a one-year competition with head-to-head competitive demonstrations taking
place at the OHMSETT -- National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility in Leonardo, N.J., USA
(www.ohmsett.com). A $1 million prize will be awarded to the team that demonstrates the ability to recover oil on the sea
surface at the highest oil recovery rate (ORR) and the highest Oil Recovery Efficiency (ORE). For more information, visit
www.iprizecleanoceans.org.
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ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION
Founded in 1995, the X PRIZE Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization solving the world's Grand Challenges by
creating and managing large-scale, high-profile, incentivized prize competitions that stimulate investment in research and
development worth far more than the prize itself. The organization motivates and inspires brilliant innovators from all
disciplines to leverage their intellectual and financial capital for the benefit of humanity. The X PRIZE Foundation
conducts competitions in four Prize Groups: Education & Global Development; Energy & Environment; Life Sciences; and
Exploration (Ocean and Deep Space). Prizes won include the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private, suborbital space
flight; the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE for creating safe, affordable, production-capable
vehicles that exceed 100 MPG energy equivalent (MPGe); and the $2 million Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE
CHALLENGE for advanced rocket development. Active prizes include the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, the $10
million Archon Genomics X PRIZE, and the $1.4 million Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE. For more
information, visit www.xprize.org.
ABOUT WENDY SCHMIDT
Wendy Schmidt is President of The Schmidt Family Foundation that works to advance the development of clean energy
and support the wiser use of natural resources. She is founder of the foundation's 11th Hour Project and of Climate Central.
Her other work, at ReMain Nantucket, focuses on generating a model for smart community downtown development on the
island. With her husband, Eric, Wendy created the Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2009 to provide future opportunities aboard
research vessels for urgent ocean studies. Wendy earned an M.A. in Journalism from The University of California at
Berkeley, and a B.A. magna cum laude from Smith College. She serves on the boards of GRIST, The Nantucket Dreamland
Foundation, The Natural Resources Defense Council, The California Academy of Sciences, and The Cradle to Cradle
Products Innovation Institute.
ABOUT CISCO
Cisco, sponsor of the X PRIZE Foundation's Energy & Environment Prize Group, is the worldwide leader in networking
that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. This year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation,
operational excellence and corporate social responsibility. Information about Cisco can be found at www.cisco.com. For
ongoing news, go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
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