Myrtleford Marian College student Harrison Wood was recently announced the winner of the senior category Judges’ Choice Award at this year's 'Snowy Hydro Powering Up the Future Competition'.

Held annually and open to hundreds of students from across Australia, the competition is an opportunity for young people to share their ideas for a more sustainable future, by designing innovations to help reduce energy emissions and possibly win an awesome prize for their school.

Harrison's electricity-generating idea was inspired by the possibility of the human race becoming an interplanetary species.

“Humans could have colonies on Mars by 2050 and theoretically, electricity could be generated from the magnetic field of black holes through a process called positron-electron annihilation," he said.

"The high energy output could be harnessed by using heat to spin turbines and generate electricity.

"We don’t have the technology to do this today, but with continued research it could become a reality.”

A panel of four judges evaluated the 20 shortlisted entries and scored them for their innovation, insightfulness and creativity.

They also considered how clearly students explained the problem, how their idea tackles emissions and how it might work in practice.

The exciting news was announced via a personal call to Harrison’s parents and an email to the college.

As part of the prize, Harrison won for the College a 3D printer from Maker’s Empire, filament supplies, a year’s access to the Maker’s Empire platform and assistance for the college teachers with setup and professional development.

“Marian College is incredibly fortunate to be benefiting from Harrison winning the Snowy Hydro Powering the Future Competition Senior Judges’ Choice Award," science teacher, Kevin Tyndall said.

"Harrison’s theory is brilliant and his passion for science obvious.

"We are incredibly proud of his achievement and look forward to our students benefiting from having a new 3D printer available at the college.”