Beyond sun and wind
Looking differently to energy for tomorrow today
The motto of the Eindhoven University Fund is “For Life, For the World, For the Better”. This reflects our ambition to contribute to solving social issues. That is why we support researchers and students. Their work deserves a solid financial foundation so that they can focus on the challenges of today and tomorrow. So that they can develop methods and techniques that will contribute to a cleaner, healthier future. For us and our planet.
In doing so, they not only improve what already exists but also think and work outside the box. They approach challenges from new angles and perspectives. And with different disciplines, because the intensive collaboration and exchange of ideas between our faculties are both a major success factor. Just like the close ties, we maintain with companies in the Brainport Region.
On this page, we take you through the various current projects.
How can you store energy in your own home?
For households, there is not yet an option to store energy themselves. And so they often supply back to 'the grid' with their solar panels, while they can use that energy well when the sun goes down. But the heat battery is going to change that.
The electrolyzer
Electrolysis, the method of splitting water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen, has once again attracted a lot of attention in recent years. In 2022, hydrogen is an attractive alternative to natural gas, one of the fossil fuels we no longer want to depend on in the future.
Thijs de Groot is researching ways to bring the electrolyzer as a system into the 21st century.
Redox flow batteries - scalable and cleaner
Antoni Forner-Cuenca is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at TU/e. As extensive as his title is, as big are Antoni's plans and ambitions. His favorite part of his job is to interact with his students. And this project is a perfect opportunity for that. He has recruited a team of students that aims to seriously speed up the energy transition. Together they want to make great strides in storing electricity, employ hydrogen to make transport CO2-free and develop very creative routes to reduce CO2 emissions.
Current projects:
Made possible with contributions from alumni.
Metal fuels
The future of fully electric transport. That is the image that comes from the media. But sometimes electric propulsion is not an option. Because it requires more power. dr. Mohammadreza Baigmohammadi is working on a fuel made of metal particles charged with solar energy. 100% circular and powerful enough for even heavier vehicles and vessels.
Technology in the transition to renewable energy sources
"In the Netherlands, for example, we want to generate 70% of our electricity from renewable energy by 2030. Imagine what this means: our electricity network changing enormously from large power stations to hundreds of thousands of solar panels, wind turbines and batteries."
