This year's Young Scientist of the Year plans to stay in New Zealand to continue working on his anti-pollution project.

The 27-year-old Wellington PhD chemistry student has won the MacDiarmid award for his use of the metal palladium to remove carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide from vehicle exhaust fumes. Mr Watt says when injected into a car's exhaust, toxic particles are captured by the palladium and converted into something less toxic.

He believes there huge commercial applications for the technology the marketplace is enormous.