Province of Brabant to invest one million Euros in ‘Metal Power’ – iron powder as a circular energy source

The province of Brabant is investing one million euros in the development of an industrial application for the incineration of metal powder as an energy source. The project, which was co-focused by TU Eindhoven, will be based on the site of Metalot in Budel Dorplein.

The Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) has been working for several years on the promising technology that generates energy from the combustion of metal powder. The burning of metal powder releases a lot of heat, which can be used for steam production in industry, as an alternative to coal in coal-fired power stations and as fuel for trucks and ships. The combustion product, rust powder, is collected and can be converted back into metal powder with the help of renewable energy. In this way, the metal acts as a sustainable, circular energy carrier. In 2018, a team of TU/e students, Team SOLID, created a small-scale demonstration model that was able to burn iron powder, produce steam and generate electricity.

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