About the project

The need to reduce CO2 emissions makes energy in the built environment a key issue given that inefficient buildings represent around 35% of the total energy consumption. Continuous Monitoring (CM) and Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) are complex but important technologies in detecting inefficiencies in Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC). With a rise in demand for cooling caused by global warming, this project is developing a new approach based on data analytics and machine learning. This will enable resulting CM and FDD modules to be programmed in a state-of-the-art Building Management System (BMS) and become market-ready by the end of the project.

About the project

Towards an artificial womb

Following their birth, each child faces a physiological transition from mother-placental life support to (self-sufficient) life outside the womb. For some premature babies, this transition occurs too quickly. This places a heavy demand on the child’s immature vital organs, which is why extremely premature babies often experience serious, lifelong health problems with possible social consequences. As a trial in recent years, premature lambs have successfully been kept alive in a fluid-based environment, allowing them to develop in the same way as in the womb. The results are also promising for human application. The Perinatal Life Support consortium will develop a medical device – an artificial womb – that supports the safe development of extremely premature babies outside of the womb. Ultimately, these infants will have better health prospects than premature infants with conventional care.

About the project

FITTing Persons’ vitality and optimizing their Work Environment

In an increasingly competitive global economy, physical inactivity and burnout rates are increasing. Sustainable employability based on good physical and mental health is therefore crucial, preventing absenteeism and also reducing healthcare costs. POWEr FITTing optimizes the relationship between vitality and the (home) office environment through the combination of data acquisition, integration and application for the validation and acceleration of user-oriented solutions. By taking into account individual, societal and contextual factors, this enables employees to remain both healthy and productive. This benefits companies, individuals and wider society.

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.