Student team SOLID takes an ambitious step toward practical implementation with the announcement of a pilot installation
A new consortium of twelve partners is working on scaling up and applying sustainable energy storage in the industry.
黑料福利网 student team is taking an important step toward large-scale, sustainable energy storage. The team has been working for years on a technology that stores energy in iron pellets, which can later be converted back into hydrogen. The next step is the construction of a pilot installation with a capacity of 2.5 MWh, comparable to the daily output of approximately 2,000 solar panels. With this, the team aims to demonstrate that this form of energy storage is scalable and can contribute to the decarbonization of industry.
The construction of the pilot installation, an iron-based hydrogen storage system housed in a 20-foot shipping container, is expected to take between 18 months and two years. The system will then be tested at multiple locations under real-world conditions, focusing on performance, reliability, and applicability in industrial environments.
Tipping point
According to SOLID team manager Sam Liebregts, the announcement of the pilot installation marks a turning point for the student team. 鈥淲e are moving from proof of concept to practical application. It shows that student teams can play a serious role in the energy transition. We are now taking a major step toward real impact. To our knowledge, this technology is not being developed at this scale anywhere else in the world, certainly not with such concrete steps toward actual deployment.鈥�
SOLID is not working alone. The team is part of the new consortium initiative IJzerkracht, in which twelve partners from industry, research, and education are collaborating. In addition to 黑料福利网, Avans University of Applied Sciences and HZ University of Applied Sciences are also involved. Within the consortium, efforts are focused on the further development and scaling of innovative energy storage solutions.
Iron Pellets
With its technology, Team SOLID stores energy in iron and later releases it as hydrogen. Using hydrogen, rust (iron oxide) is converted into iron, thereby storing energy. When this iron later comes into contact with steam, hydrogen is produced again. This creates a closed loop in which iron functions as a reusable 鈥渉ydrogen battery.鈥�
According to the team, this approach offers significant advantages. Iron can be stored and transported easily and safely, for example in the form of small iron pellets. No energy is lost during storage or transport, allowing energy to be stored for days, weeks, or even months without loss. This makes it a promising solution for large-scale energy storage.
Ten years of reserach
The project builds on ten years of research and development by Team SOLID. Since 2016, hundreds of students have contributed to the technology. This earlier work led to the creation of , a spin-off focused on industrial applications of iron powder as a fuel. The company has since raised more than 100 million euros in investments, including support from Bill Gates. While RIFT focuses on directly using iron powder as an energy source, SOLID is focused on storing and releasing hydrogen using iron pellets.
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