GRIDVILLE Newsletter
Autumn 2022 I ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS
The GridVille team of autumn 2022
GridVille is a student project at NTNU Trondheim, created by Engineers Without Borders (EWB) NTNU, the local student department of EWB Norway. The project involves students designing and building a microgrid, which will supply a village that does not have access to electricity.
The project combines sustainable electricity production with humanitarian aid work, which makes it a unique interdisciplinary project. Through this project, we want to give students the opportunity to immerse themselves in a central part of the energy network of the future, as well as gain practical experience with humanitarian aid-related issues.
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TEAM
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ROUPS OF GRIDVILLE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Electrical is responsible for all of the electronic components of the microgrid. This semester have been focused on simulating a control system for the microgrid.
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
Sustainable Design is responsible for keeping the end-users in mind and ensuring that the grid maximizes its potential, for impact on both the locals using it and the students involved.
MARKETING AND FINANCE
Marketing is responsible for the marketing and finance aspect of the project. Their responsibility is to promote the organization through different medias as well as making a budgeting plan for these two semesters.
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TEAM
GRIDVILLE’S REORGANISATION
This semester GridVille has restructured in order to make the team more efficient. As a result, the team now consists of three departments: Electrical, Sustainable Design, and Marketing & Finance. These are the departments that were found to be the most essential for the development of the project.We want to strengthen the team’s knowledge in these fields before we move on.
For the next semester we plan to have a proof of concept, demonstrating that a team of students are able to design a microgrid. We are excited to prove our worth, and eager to see what challenges next year will carry.
MARKETING AND FINANCE
Since last semester, Marketing and Finance has become its own independent team in GridVille. Throughout the semester we’ve been working on standard tasks within marketing such as stand, merch, SoMe, as well as putting emphasis on promoting our partners in Nepal. .
Regarding the Financial aspect of the organization, we’ve been working on upgrading systems for accounting and budgeting and transforming it to become somewhat more independent of the EWB systems as the Financial responsibility of the two organizations has been split in two
It’s been an exiting, but challenging semester as everyone on the team were new to it in September, and as a consequence many processes and procedures have started a bit from scratch. Working together and learning from both the organization and each other has eventually made us more confident about our roles and responsibilities in the team.
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NEWS
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ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
The electrical department has along with the rest of the organization gone through some major changes. We have redefined our goals, and are concentrating solely on the control-system for the time being.
NEWS
FEEDBACK MEETING
In November we in the electrical group invited former members for some feedback and help to reach our semester goal. Here we presented the simulation we had been working on throughout the semester. The former members got an overview on what was done, and what the group struggled to solve.
At the time, we were having trouble with the voltage output from the simulation. Using the feedback from our former members we were able to finally get the desired output after putting in a few more hours. The feedback we got also helped us solve a couple of smaller problems that were skewing the final result. Among other things our calculations for the state of charge was leading to an undesirable outcome, and having an outside perspective allowed us to hone in on the problem a lot faster.
All this led to us being able to hold the deadline of having a working simulation with a stabilized output, making sure we were set to move on to the goals for the next semester,
and giving the system the extra push it needed in order for them to make it work as they wanted it to.
THE LONG TERM GOALS
GridVille’s long-term goal is to become a project with an annual cycle, designing a microgrid in a new location each cycle (academic year). To realize this goal it is vital that we gain a solid base of knowledge and skills. To achieve this, the next three cycles will target different
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areas of the project. By the end of this first cycle we will have a proof of concept, a simulation of the control system future microgrids will use. The second cycle will focus on building a functional microgrid prototype in Trondheim. In the third cycle we will partner with a foreign collaborator to
customize the design and build a microgrid in a selected location. We believe that this approach will establish a solid foundation for future projects to build upon and improve the quality of our project, ensuring that our long-term goal is met.
PHOTO: FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES/NTNU NEWS
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NAME: Rebecca Hofmann
AGE: 24
FROM: Germany
STUDY: Renewable Energy Systems
POSITION: Electrical member
How did you hear about Gridville?
I heard about Engineers Without Borders first in the first week of university where all the groups presented themselves and when googling IUG I learned about GridVille.
Why did you join Gridville?
The reason I joined Gridville is that I think it is a really cool project that I wanted to contribute to.
How has it been being a part of Gridville?
The group is just really fun to work with socially! During the work I understood many things I was supposed to get during my university courses, but better late than never, I guess!
How is the social aspect of Gridville?
The social aspect of Gridville is really awesome. We’ve had many different events where members can meet up and socialize.
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AGE: 23
FROM: Indonesia
STUDY: Sustainable Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
POSITION: Sustainable Design Member
How did you hear about Gridville?
By chance! I was having lunch and found a pamphlet on the table
Why did you join Gridville?
Coming from a developing country I grew up surrounded by inequality and as someone who’s privileged enough to pursue higher education, I felt like I should make the best of my time here and give back as much as I can. On top of this, Gridville caught my attention as I am also interested in the development of renewable energy.
How has it been being a part of Gridville?
I’d say I enjoy everything about Gridville. It’s great to have something to do other than schoolwork, especially when it’s for a good cause and you get to hang out with your friends while you do it.
How is the social aspect of Gridville?
The social experience in Gridville has been amazing. The organization is full of wonderful people. It could be a social event or even a weekly meeting, either way I always look forward to seeing them.
INTERVIEW
