About the project

The iHeat@Home project contributes to a breakthrough innovation in thermal energy storage: a heat battery which is better, cheaper, smaller and greener than any competitor. This will accelerate the energy transition, promote the development of renewable energy sources, reduce grid investments and create new business. This is all happening here in the Brainport region.

iHeat@Home focuses on solutions for real-time data on the heat battery’s state-of-charge and its optimal data management, with three coherent solutions:

1. The basis for a sensor which is robust and cheap
2. Communication protocols and data managemen
3. Integration in a validated, user-ready heat battery. The aim is to bring this technology to the market by 2023.

About the project

Installations in buildings are responsible for around 35% of all energy consumption, approximately 20% of which is due to inefficient operations. Inferior environmental conditions within classrooms can have both short- and long-term health effects, mainly due to the presence of particulate matter. With greater insights into sensors, data interpretation, trend signaling, continuous monitoring, fault detection/diagnosis and predictive maintenance, problems can be identified in the Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems of schools. The ECoS-IAQ project focuses on the creation of product development concepts for air handling manufacturers, air filter manufacturers, control companies and installers.

About the project

Humanity is facing an unprecedented challenge: global warming, driven by carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil sources such as oil and gas. However, these emissions, if captured, can be a renewable carbon source with applications such as crop growth and sustainable fuel synthesis. Carbyon will develop Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere and turn it into a green substitute to fossil fuels. As the global demand for renewable carbon will increase once the price level reaches €50 per ton of CO₂, Carbyon is challenging multidisciplinary teams within Eindhoven Engine to collaboratively improve the main cost drivers of DAC technology.

• Follow up of this project: Direct Air Capture 2.0 project (OpenCall 2022)

About the project

VIPNOM focuses on the development of advanced noise measurement method and experiencing noise in acoustic virtual reality. Noise is the second largest harmful environmental factor in Europe and claims a million healthy years of life each year due to stress and sleep disturbances. To effectively combat unwanted noise, it is important to first be able to measure it.

Currently, noise is measured by placing microphones at specific locations and measurements made are applicable on those exact locations. VIPNOM advocates the use of microphone arrays at central locations, where noise levels at several other locations can also be measured simultaneously, such as at the balconies of an apartment building next to a noisy road, or across a large area of the city centre. In order to accurately measure noise levels, VIPNOM will further develop, optimize and implement the methods that are developed in the base project (ZERO). The resulting algorithms will be tested in the living labs Stratumseind and Strijp-S. Additionally, the same technique will also be applied in an acoustic virtual reality to allow interested parties (such as citizens and policy officers) to auralise and experience noise beyond just decibel values on a written report.

About the project

NEON EE, part of the NEON research program that focuses on the societal challenges of climate change, clean energy and smart mobility. The models, or digital twins, being developed provide information on ways to reduce CO₂. With the information acquired, research is being conducted into a low-carbon future through realistic and cost-effective ways. NEON EE will enable these models to be brought to market even faster. Within Eindhoven Engine, several parties will test the tooling, nourishing it with more and more data and therefore enabling it to present an even more realistic picture.

About the project

Large events, such as festivals, consume more electricity than the main grid can supply. As a result, festivals rely on generators that consume up to 130,000 liters of diesel per event. With more than 12,000 large outdoor events in Western Europe each year, it is essential to find ways to reduce this waste and pollution. The GEM tower has been developed to change this. This tall tower is a large battery that controls the storage and distribution of renewable wind and solar energy. In this project, GEM-stage wants to complete the supply of renewable sources in the GEM-stage by adding hydrogen.

Exploring safe hydrogen transportation

At Engine Engine, the project has explored safe hydrogen transportation in collaboration with DENS. Hydrogen is seen as a sustainable energy carrier for festivals and is transported in pressurized tanks. DENS produces energy generators that run on formic acid, a safe solution as it does not burn or explode. This has been extensively tested at festivals, focusing on the integration of formic acid with the control system. Additionally, we emphasize raising awareness about sustainable energy. It’s crucial to initiate a dialogue and explain the benefits and possibilities of switching to clean, renewable energy sources. The key message is that the need for diesel in off-grid power can be significantly reduced.

Results

The GEM‑Stage project successfully achieved its goal of testing a hydrogen generator combined with renewable energy sources. During the 11‑day Ocean Race event in Aarhus (DK), the DENS hydrozine-powered generator was used as a backup for solar and wind energy.

The generator was fully integrated with the GEM‑Stage Energy Management System, functioning reliably: it stayed on standby and activated automatically when battery levels dropped below a critical limit.

About the project

The goal is to develop a self-learning module that can monitor and diagnose climate systems in large buildings. This will enable a climate system to perform better; for instance, lower energy consumption, better thermal comfort and better air quality. More efficient maintenance is also possible. The module will be used as an add-on for the Building Energy Management System (BEMS) of offices.

About the project

Unlocking mechanical limitations of synthetic heart stents with auxetic, fiber tubular scaffolds.

In the fight against cardiovascular disease, stents and grafts are implanted in patients to support or repair damaged or high-risk vessels. These stents and grafts provide robust mechanical support, but do not provide tissue repair. It would be better if such implants actively promoted tissue repair and regeneration over time.

The AUXSTENT project addresses these challenges and is already working on 3D-printable and bioresorbable stents that encourage and stimulate regeneration. At Eindhoven Engine, AUXSTENT will take the next step: developing a functional prototype. In this project, the focus is on combining the functional design of these stents with available engineering and materials knowledge.

About the project

The Smart Heat Shed (smart heat storage) project addresses the rapid energy transition by combining two international breakthrough technologies, a heat façade and a heat battery. The heat facade (developed by TNO-Emergo spin-off Calosol) is an innovative, aesthetically versatile solar thermal facade collector, which effectively harvests solar energy at low outdoor temperatures. The heat battery (developed by the TNO-TU/e spin-off Cellcius) is the first completely loss-free heat storage solution. The latter is also 10x cheaper than electrical storage and much more compact than water or phase transition materials (PCM).

About the project

Currently, there are 55 million people worldwide with dementia. This number is expected to rise to 78 million by 2030 and 138 million by 2050 according to the WHO. There is currently no medical solution for dementia. In addition, there is a shortage of caregivers. This is putting the healthcare system under pressure. Technology should and can provide the support needed for dementia sufferers and their caregivers.

Warm technology

The WECARE project focuses on extending human care by applying the Warm Technology concept to interactive agents, such as chatbots and companion robots. Warm Technology ensures that this technology is made accessible and appropriate for the environment of people with dementia and their caregivers, thereby also taking this environment into account. In this project, work is being done to develop more advanced behaviors and representations in interactive agents.