energy, sustainability

SOLID

Develops a sustainable energy storage system using iron as a circular energy carrier

About Us

In our future world energy needs to be sustainable and cheap such as sun and wind energy. But what to do if the wind is not blowing, or the sun is not shining? The dependency of sustainable energy sources on weather patterns is considered one of the main bottlenecks of the energy transition.

To cope with this mismatch between sustainable energy supply and demand, the world requires a collection of sustainable energy carriers.  

Hydrogen is an example of this. Hydrogen produced from renewable energy can be used in different markets, varying from the high heat industry, mobility sector and district heating.
With the increase of the hydrogen production capacity and demand, the need for bulk hydrogen storage arises as well. Although hydrogen as a sustainable energy carrier has a lot of potential, it has a few inherent problems. It is highly flammable and must be stored at high pressures or cryogenic temperatures. This makes the transport and seasonal storage of hydrogen complex and therefore expensive. 
 
With Iron-based Hydrogen Storage, SOLID and its partners bring forward a revolutionary solution for this problem.

With our Steam Iron concept, we are reacting iron with high temperature steam, thereby creating hydrogen and rust. The hydrogen can be used as a fuel for all kinds of processes. The rust can be regenerated back to iron by adding hydrogen. This creates a safe, cheap and cyclic storage and transport method for hydrogen.  

As of now, we have developed a proof-of-concept system, the SIR1, capable of producing 1 kilogram of hydrogen from steaming iron.

SOLID

SOLID is an ambitious student team of Eindhoven University of Technology that aims to enable access to clean and renewable energy for anyone, at any time.

With 23 interdisciplinary students, we create an ecosystem for iron fuels as circular energy carriers, which has already led to the creation of our spin-off RIFT.

To do so, SOLID participates in multiple consortia and works with partners to develop both the technology and the ecosystem.

Being part of SOLID means being part of an innovative and most enjoyable community. In our journey towards making iron fuel a success, we lay the foundation for a sustainable future. 

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