Lockdown Leisure: Home decorator

Long before the COVID-19 lockdown, my girlfriend and I went to a restaurant where they had a lamp doubling as a planter which we thought was really cool. Ever since I have had the vague plan to build one myself to put above the dining table to replace my old lamp which gives off rather dim light. And now, having to work and study at home we became tired of the lack of light and decided to get to it and build one ourselves!

We kept the design rather simple and chose to use mainly wood because it is a lot easier to work with without access to ‘De Werf’. So, apart from using wood we chose to put the pieces together using metal corner pieces and bolts. In theory this should be easy, putting the bolt through the holes and done. Reality was a tad more challenging, requiring some conviction but it worked. This resulted in a rectangular box in which three holes were cut to accommodate the spots we chose to use. After giving the entire planter a layer of varnish, the planter was mainly finished. After adding the spots, which were installed in parallel using screwless terminals, the lamp was finished! WRITTEN BY ARDIN CORBIJN VAN WILLENSWAARD

A COMPACT AND CLEAN FUEL

WRITTEN BY DAAN DE WAARD EN MARIE-ELIANE MUYLKENS

Enabling access to clean and renewable energy for anyone at any time is the aim of SOLID, one of the largest student teams of the TU/e. Each year a new group of students forms an interdisciplinary team that builds towards this goal. Their recipe for success: Iron fuel.

It is quite clear that due to the adverse effects of climate change & resource depletion, the world requires a transition towards sustainable energy sources. However, three main bottlenecks make this transition a difficult challenge. These are the (seasonal) storage of energy, long-distance transport of energy, and finding CO2-neutral alternatives for heat-intensive process industries. According to SOLID, iron fuel can be deployed to confute these bottlenecks.

Iron fuel cycle

Iron finely ground to a powder is combustible and yields a lot of heat energy during combustion. This energy can facilitate heat-intensive industries and drive steam turbines for electricity production. The only residual product that is formed during combustion is iron oxide, also known as rust. This rust powder can easily be captured and, with sustainable energy, be regenerated into iron fuel closing the so-called iron fuel cycle. Iron fuel contains a high energy density, is easy and safe to store and transport, and consists of one of the most abundant resources on earth, making it a promising energy carrier for a carbon-neutral energy system.

Interdisciplinary team

The development of the iron-fuel cycle requires interdisciplinary cooperation. Therefore, SOLID works in 5 sub-teams. Of course, the largest team is the technical team that primarily focuses on developing the two parts of the cycle: combustion and regeneration. Combustion aims to retrieve the largest amount of energy per mass unit of iron fuel and simultaneously capture all the combusted rust particles ready for the regeneration process. At the current moment, SOLID is designing its second iron fuel combustion plant with a capacity of 1 megawatt together with its partners in the living lab project. Regeneration aims to reduce iron oxide to iron fuel to complete the cycle in the most energy-efficient manner. At the current moment, the technical team, together with partners, work on the design of the first iron oxide regeneration installation to close the iron fuel cycle using hydrogen as energy source in their MEC project. On top of that, SOLID just launched a new project in which they test electrochemical reduction as a possible pathway for the regeneration process.

Besides the technical team responsible for iron fuel’s technical advancements, SOLID contains four more sub-teams. The business, financial, marketing, and HR team facilitate the required support necessary for technological developments besides the engineering advancements. The business team is responsible for establishing partnerships, obtaining subsidies, executing market analysis and technoeconomic feasibility studies of the iron fuel cycle. Marketeers of SOLID organize and visit events, communicate with the press, and execute a social media strategy. To keep track of the cash flows, a financial manager takes care of financial matters. Finally, the HR team organizes team evenings and weekends to reward the team’s accomplishments and maintain space for fun besides the hard work during the journey!

Our journey

The journey of SOLID started as professor Philip the Goey initiated an honors Academy program in the field of metal fuels back in 2016. Three motivated students from the TU/e successfully executed the program focusing on iron fuel. Their enthusiasm encouraged them to work on the development one more year with a small group of students called team solid. The small team of 11 students realized the first continuous iron fuel flame halfway through 2018, proving that iron fuel can serve as a sustainable energy carrier. In September 2018, SOLID officially became a student team of the TU/e and has its aims on their first big project: the metal power project.

Metal power project

To convince the world Iron fuel is suitable for facilitating heat energy to industrial processes, the metal power project was launched at the start of 2019. By receiving a grant of 2.4 million euros, the construction of the world’s first iron fuel combustion installation of 100 kW named ‘metal power 100’ (MP-100) could be started. After a year of hard work, the first iron fuel industrial combustion plant was finished in January 2020, reaching a TRL level of 4. On October 29th 2020, a successful online demonstration at Bavaria showed the world that iron fuel could be applied as fuel for heat-intensive industries expanding the recognition of the iron fuel concept.

Meet Rick from SOLID

Rick is the only member who has been with SOLID from the proof of concept until now and can share his experiences through the years. Rick is a student of Mechanical Engineering, like many other SOLID members.

It all started when I heard two SOLID members discussing a challenge they were facing with mixing iron powder. After joining the conversation and learning more about SOLID, I realized this was the perfect place for me to apply my knowledge in a fun and practical way. I am already in my third year as a SOLID member, and during that time, I’ve really seen the team grow. At first, every team member was focused on the proof of concept. I gained a lot of hands-on experience while working on the burner installation. I also worked on calculating, modelling, and designing the MP-100 installation. Nowadays, I am a part of the reduction team. Here I am responsible for the calculations involving the cooling system, the materials to be used in the reactor, and the iron powder collector’s design. working on many different aspects of much larger projects. The increased complexity of the team comes with some new challenges. However, this is a perfect environment to learn from since this is what it will most likely be like for all of us in the future. I am very proud when I look at what SOLID has become and am very glad to have had the opportunity to be a part of it.

What I love most about SOLID is that there are so many driven students from many different backgrounds all working together on new ideas and concepts. When working there is a very nice atmosphere, such that you feel like you’re working on and learning new things together with a large group of friends. SOLID has changed a great deal since the beginning. At first, a small group of people worked on the technical aspects of one project simultaneously, but nowadays, multiple sub-teams are

Hitch on our journey

Right now, the main focus of SOLID is to upscale the combustion of iron fuel to 1 megawatt in the living lab project and complete the cycle by launching the first regeneration installation in the MEC project. Do you also sympathize with the vision to enable access to clean and renewable energy for anyone at any time? SOLID may has a spot for you upcoming college year. Sign up for a case evening or online coffee call on our website, www. teamsolid.org, and we can answer all your questions.