Two teenagers — Tomáš Čermák of Slovakia and Anna Podmanická of Czechia — just captured the top honor at the global youth competition, the Earth Prize 2025. Their invention, PURA, uses cold plasma and sunlight to strip antibiotics, “super-bugs,” and chemical pollutants from water with barely any energy. The news broke via Impactful Ninja, and the duo now holds a US $12,500 grant, a year of expert mentorship, and the Earth Prize’s ceremonial “100-Year Flag” to fly back home.
What Is the Earth Prize?
Founded by the Swiss-based Earth Foundation, the Earth Prize is the world’s largest environmental competition for 13- to 19-year-olds. Regional winners pitch sustainability solutions to a panel of scientists, investors, and past laureates. PURA beat six continental finalists and more than 1,400 original entries.
How PURA’s Plasma System Works
Photocatalytic Light Stage – UV LEDs activate a titanium-dioxide layer that breaks down organic contaminants.
Cold-Plasma Corona – A room-temperature plasma arc zaps antibiotic-resistant bacteria and oxidizes lingering chemicals.
Energy-Sipping Design – A portable solar panel powers the unit, treating one liter per minute while drawing less juice than a phone charger.
Lab tests show a 99.9 % kill rate for ESBL E. coli and a 90 % reduction in common pharma residues.
Why the Win Matters
Antibiotic resistance could cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050, much of it spread through untreated wastewater.
PURA’s low-energy design is ideal for remote clinics, disaster zones, and small farms that lack full-scale treatment plants.
The Earth Prize spotlight thrusts teenage inventors onto investors’ radar — past winners have raised follow-on funding within six months.
What’s Next for Tomáš & Anna?
Scale-Up – Build a 50-liter-per-hour pilot rig with the prize money.
Field Trials – Ongoing talks with hospitals in Bratislava and Brno to test PURA on real effluent streams.
Patent & Open IP – With guidance from Earth Foundation mentors, they’ll file provisional patents but pledge to open-source the core design for humanitarian use.
How You Can Back the Breakthrough
Follow the journey on the official PURA team page at the Earth Prize site.
Donate or partner through the project’s contact form on their interim website.
Share the news with the hashtag #PlasmaForPlanet to nudge water-tech investors toward youth-led innovation.