Henry Lamba, a 28-year old Masters student in Energy Engineering from Bayero University, Kano has emerged as a winner of the Falling Walls Lab Ibadan 2026 pitch competition, where he demonstrated a solar-powered potable water filtration device to solve water contamination.
He will be representing Nigeria at the finale in Berlin.
Innovative solution to safe drinking water
In his pitch titled, “Breaking the Wall of Microbial Water Contamination,” Lamba introduced the RienLIGHT Water Box, developed by his start-up, Schrödinger Technologie Ltd., which purifies 10 liters of water within just 90 seconds of operation, removing 99.9 percent of microorganisms from the water.
Lamba emerged as the winner after being screened by a jury which comprised of Jochen Schindelarz, Cultural and Economic officer, German Consulate, Amarachukwu Onyejekwe, project manager, Delegation of German Industry and Commerce; Moses Ayankunle, coordinator for German Educational Cooperation; Oluwatoyin Odeku, Professor of Pharmacy; Simeon Cadmus, Professor of Veterinary Public Health at the University of Ibadan; and Valentine Nnamani, Founder/CEO of One Grid Energies and winner of Falling Walls Lab Ibadan 2025.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 800,000 children die each year due to diarrhea related diseases.
That equates to roughly one child dying every minute across the globe. Also, millions of Nigerians still lack access to safe drinking water.
Lamba narrated how the loss of his sister to cholera shaped his decision to develop an innovative solution to unsafe drinking water.
“They say water is life, but water killed my sister,” Lamba shared. “One day, my sister came back from school. She looked so weak and tired. My mom discovered she was sick, so she rushed her to the nearest healthcare center. But before they got there, my sister died. It was later found out that she died of cholera because she had been drinking contaminated water that contains pathogenic microorganisms like viruses and bacteria from the school tap and home in Kaduna.”
The RienLIGHT Water Box system works in three stages: power, filtration, and distribution.
In the power stage, energy is sourced from the sun and used to power a DC pump, which creates high pressure to push water through a specialised membrane.
This membrane captures viruses, bacteria, and contaminants while allowing water to pass through.
To ensure it is completely safe for consumption, the water then passes through a UV light system. The UV light breaks the molecular bonds and DNA of any remaining pathogens, ensuring access to clean drinking water within just 90 seconds of operation.
A major milestone achieved by the innovation is its 75 percent water recovery rate, outperforming conventional filtration systems that average between 50 percent and 70 percent and often results in significant wastewater.
So far, his start-up has secured seven patents for the innovation.
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Solomon Agbaje of Sol-Uniq Green Resources, an Osun State-based startup, took second place for his presentation titled, ‘Breaking the Wall of Energy Poverty’.
His innovation features smokeless charcoal briquettes made from agricultural residues such as rice husks, oats, sugarcane bagasse, and coconut husks, municipal waste like sawdust and domestic waste such as palm kernel shells. The organic fuel source reduces deforestation, prevents respiratory diseases caused by traditional wood smoke, and protects the ecosystem.
Olaoluwa Ogboro, a student from the University of Lagos, took third position for his pitch, ‘Breaking the Wall of Industrial Accidents’.
His innovation is a tech-enabled safety helmet integrated with fall and pulse rate sensors, designed specifically for lone workers in loud, high-risk industrial environments within the oil and gas sector. His innovation has already received validation from industry professionals at companies like NNPC and Shell.
Other participants with their presentations included:
Abdullahi Bello, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology- Breaking the Wall of Food Spoilage
Angel Mmaduike, University of Ibadan: Breaking the Wall of Industrial Wastewater
Dorcas Ezekiel, Obafemi Awolowo University- Breaking the Wall of Geogated Language Access
Marvellous Adelaja, University of Ibadan- Breaking the Wall of Maternal Mortality
Jeremiah Genesis Ezra, Zira Education- Breaking the Wall of Educational Irrelevance in Northern Nigeria
Juwerat Abdsalam- Abiola Ajimobi Technical University, Ibadan- Breaking the Wall of Gas Flaring
Charles Nwaeze, University of Jos / UnlockBigChange9JA- Breaking the Wall of Health Inequity with CoHealth App
Dr. Ufuoma Oghenejoboh, Delta State University- Breaking the Wall of Silent Drug-Herb Interaction in Diabetes Management
Adeosun Victor, FarmX / Lead City University)- Breaking the Wall of Food and People
Emmanuel Lafenwa, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology- abreaking the Wall of the Invisible Farm
Ifeoluwa Garba, University of Ibadan– Breaking the Wall of Ecobag Mart
Magdalene Jackson, BMLSIA- Breaking the Wall of Lost Community Health Data
Olaniyi Noah Olawumi, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology- Breaking the Wall of Post-Harvest Losses in Cashew Farming.
The Falling Walls Lab was founded in 2011, by the Falling Walls Foundation which allows aspiring early-career professionals, students, and entrepreneurs to pitch innovative ideas around science, business, and society, in exactly three minutes.
The foundation is supported by the German Foreign Office, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Consulate-General of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Beiersdorf.
Speaking as member of the Jury, Schinderlarz said,
“I’ve seen so many projects which have been presented by many talented Nigerians. It was really tough for me to decide which was best. The winner will be going for kthe world Summit in Berlin to present his ideas. We see Nigerians have so much talent and we look forward for a very good future for Nigeria”.
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Explaining the origin of the competition’s name, Charlotte Meyn, chief organiser,Falling Walls Ibadan, Lektoren program, DAAD, noted that the competition featured pitches by 20 outstanding innovators cut across different universities in Nigeria. Meyn noted that the Falling Walls is a metaphor for ideas that will tear down barriers and make the world a better place. It commemorates the historic fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. The date has since been maintained for the annual grand finale of the Falling Walls Lab in Berlin since 2011.
The pitch competition takes place in over 100 countries around the world.
“We got almost 50 very impressive applications from different disciplines such as engineering, medicine, education, humanities, and others”, Meyn said. “This demonstrates once again how many visionary, outstanding and brilliant young innovators are here in Nigeria, and how much potential this country has. Even the Falling Walls head office in Germany commended me on the high number of high-quality applications that we got.”
According to her, the Falling Walls headquarters was impressed with the excellence of the applications from Nigeria, which surpassed those of many other countries that typically send in 20 to 30 applications.
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