Eindhoven-based startup Rift wants to introduce a new sustainable energy source with the combustion of iron powder. The first test in which five hundred households used iron powder for heating was successfully completed.
According to Rift founder and CEO Mark Verhagen, the existing iron powder market is being used for fuel. “It is then transported to a cauldron site, where the iron is burnt along with the air,” he explains. When a spark is added, a flame about five feet long is created. It radiates a huge amount of heat, which in turn turns into steam, hot air or hot water, which industry can use.
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Science editor Karelyn Minders says civilian use is also possible. She asserts that the flames – which can reach around 1,800 degrees Celsius – can also be used to heat entire residential areas. “So it’s not just for factories,” she says in BNR’s science update. “But it is interesting for heavy production processes that require high temperatures.”
heavy
However, not all industries can use the technology, she says. This is largely due to the fact that it is about heavy technology. This does not include use in aircraft or automobiles.
Read also | “We have industries that should never become this big.”
The main advantage of this technology is its carbon dioxide neutrality. In addition, there are much lower emissions of nitrogen than fossil fuels. The remains consist mainly of rust, which in turn can be used to make new iron powder, Verhagen says. “We collect rust in our boiler system and bring it to the production site,” he says. There we react with hydrogen to form ferrous fuel again – thus it is circular.
economic picture
Verhagen maintains that the economic picture must be correct, so the transfer of such technology is a potential stumbling block. “Obviously we don’t want to pay too much for energy, because then our products get very expensive,” he concludes. “It should also have a more positive impact.”
“If we get the powder from Australia, our carbon dioxide balance will still be more positive than if we were to burn domestic natural gas here.”
To that end, the Rift is focusing on so-called life cycle analytics, which show that CO2 emissions from transportation are negligible. “We can get the powder from Australia and then our CO2 balance will still be more positive than if we were to burn domestic natural gas here,” Verhagen concludes.
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