It always amazes me, when I see brilliantly practical ideas brought to life, that they are not being used all over the world. In this case, how to create water out of thin air, and how to dramatically reduce food wastage. Both have won prizes for their solutions to real problems.

India, the world’s second largest producer of fruit and vegetables, loses $12 billion because 40% of that food is lost before it reaches consumers. Greenpod Labs, which won this year’s Ray of Hope prize awarded by the Biomimicry Institute, is solving the problem by extending the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by 40 to 60 per cent.