A student team has won the Irish leg of an international contest for a design that draws on hydropower and wind power to generate electricity stored in a battery.
The “affordable clean energy generator system” uses both hydropower and wind to provide enough electricity for 250 light bulbs in one hour.
The prototype, named “Own It” was submitted to the “Invent for the Planet” contest, a 48-hour intensive design experience involving 29 universities in 22 locations around the world.
Competitors are given a single weekend to solve high-impact, global problems in the contest, organised by Texas A&M University.
The winning Irish team, named “Power Up”, involved Xing Ying Chuang, third-year biomedical student at ATU Galway; Tom Hakizinka Senga, a second-year mechanical engineering student at Dundalk IT; Tenis Ranjan, postgraduate student at the University of Galway; Edbin Ostilio Buezo Zuniga, a first-year engineering student at ATU Sligo; and Ontiretse Ishmael, PhD computing, ATU.
Runners up “Eat Smart”, L to R, Caoimhe McCormack, first year Environmental Science student at ATU Sligo; Zain Ali, IT Master student at ATU Donegal; Vijay Kumar, IT Master student at ATU Donegal; Jessica Henry, third year Software engineering year at ATU Sligo. Photo: Mike Shaughnessy
Another Irish team designed a solution to remove existing carbon from the environment. The “Blue Carbon” team used the space beneath wind turbines for aquaculture, such as mollusc and seaweed farming, to remove carbon and stimulate fish stocks through the creation of artificial reefs.
Eight different teams worked intensively on a selection of challenges and, with guidance from mentors, had to present a prototype, involving a 10-minute pitching presentation and 90-second video, to a panel of judges.
The Irish leg of the “Invent for the Planet 2023” was kindly sponsored by Thermo King; Boston Scientific; Marine Institute, BIM; the Department of Agricultural, Food and Marine; and MathWorks.
