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Hungarian Design Student Wins Electrolux Design Lab 2007 with Ewash...

Levente Szab from Moholy-Nagy University of Art & Design, Hungary, has won the Electrolux Design Lab 2007 (http://www.videonewsmanager.com/electrolux/assets/final/press_e-wash.pdf), a compact washing machine that uses soap nuts instead of detergent.

The 2007 Electrolux Design Lab challenged students to come up with environmentally-sound, commercially-viable products and solutions that would enable consumers to live in greater harmony with the environment.

In India and Nepal, people have used the soap nut (sapindus mucorossi) for centuries to get their clothes clean. Szab says that a kilogram of soap nuts would last the typical person a year, and soap nuts are good for people with allergies and gentle on clothes.

"E-wash is a brilliant connection between ancient knowledge and high-tech," comments juror Henrik Otto, Head of Global Design for Electrolux. "It takes someone open-minded to look for solutions from somewhere else and apply them to his own culture."

"The soapnut is a natural plant and can be cultivated. It does not harm nature but is a part of it," said Szabo. "The other problem was the form of conventional washing machine. I reduced the size and made it flat, so it would fit into a small apartment, but also would be able to wash a lot of clothes at the same time."

Second Place went to Pebble, a portable, solar food cooker that uses spray-on solar cells and induction heating for precise, energy-efficient cooking. It was submitted by Laura Pandelle from cole Boulle, France.

"This is a fascinating design that's plausible and really useful," comments juror Jason Bradbury, a UK technology presenter. "Solar paint is an interesting use of a really exciting technology."

Third Place went to Go Fresh by He Cheng Fei from Jiangnan University, China. Go Fresh is an energy-saving fridge with individual, honeycomb-shaped compartments that preserve each type of food at the right temperature and can be removed to be taken on a picnic.

Adds juror Matali Crasset, an award-winning French designer, "With the food stored at the ideal temperature, people may waste less."

The Design Lab '07 award is a prize of 5,000 Euro and a six-month scholarship at one of the Electrolux Group's global design centers.

The other five finalists are:

- Circompo by Thanat Tengamnuay from King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand. Circompo is a composter and garbage bin that decomposes organic waste -- especially food -- using microorganisms that are kept under ideal conditions of air, moisture and heat to speed the process.

- Fog Shower by Joo Diego Schimansky from Pontificia Universidade Catlica do Paran, Brazil. Fog Shower is a shower that uses a fog of microscopic water droplets and only two liters of water for a five-minute shower, compared to 26 liters for today's most efficient water-saving showerheads.

- Pure Washer by Tatjana Voronova from Hochschule fr Gestaltung Schwbisch Gmnd, Germany. Pure Washer is a rotating dual kitchen sink and detergent-free compact dishwasher that reduces water consumption and uses degassed water to remove oily dirt from dishes.

- Nature Wind by Bae Won-Ho from Dong-A University, South Korea Nature Wind is a solar-powered aircleaner mounted to a window that uses a series of filters to refresh and sanitize household air.

-Return Pot by Ying-Hao Juan from Cranbrook Academy of Art, U.S.A. Return Pot is a plastic decomposer that turns plastic bags made from polyactic acid (PLA) resin into compost for plants.

Links to Design Lab information and materials:

Design Lab Videos (http://gaia.world-television.com/wtvse/wtvflashplayer/public/designlab.aspcontentowner=00948AWZ&link=IFX&node=true)

Design Lab Blog (http://www.electrolux.com/press

For more information, contact:

Tony Evans

Electrolux Communications

614 761-2633

tony.evans @ electrolux.com

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