NEWS | ENTRIES FROM TWO ENGINEERING STUDENTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM BOTH MAKE THE FINALS OF THE ENGINEERS IN BUSINESS 2022 INNOVATION COMPETITION

Not one, but two teams of engineering students from the University of Birmingham have secured a place in the final of the Engineers in Business Champion of Champions innovation competition, which will be hosted by TV presenter Rob Bell at the Royal Academy of Engineering on 28 October 2022. Twenty-two- year-old Vanessa Chigariro who is proposing a technology to create a Plastic Powered Train, has reached the final, together with fellow mechanical engineering student, 21-year-old Max Wade with his entry, My First Carbon Capture Kit.

Vanessa’s proposal for a Plastic Powered Train addresses the need for an emission-free, fast, reliable, cheaper, quieter international public transportation system, fuelled by a carbon neutral, renewable energy source.

Explaining the concept, Vanessa said, “I grew up in South Africa where public transport is unreliable, inefficient and ineffective. Another issue that troubles me, and indeed represents one of the biggest problems facing the planet, stems from anthropogenic-driven climate change and the transportation sector is currently one of the leading offenders. In addition, landfills and plastic waste dumping continues to be a critical issue. My idea addresses all three issues.

“The majority of plastic contains hydrogen, and up to 97% of this hydrogen can be chemically extracted within 30 seconds, through a quick and affordable process. Hydrogen gas has the potential to become a leading option for power generation, especially in the transportation sector. Not only is it the most abundant element in the universe, but it offers a great source of emission-free energy. I propose converting existing South African electric trains into hybrid-hydrogen trains by integrating two fuel cells fuelled by four high-pressure hydrogen tanks and oxygen sourced from the ambient air. The electricity that is generated can then transferred to lithium-ion battery packs, which drives the locomotive.”

My First Carbon Capture Kit: Max founded My First Carbon Kit to address his frustration at the lack of options available to consumers to offset their carbon emissions at home. Explaining further, he added, “Planting trees is good, but for the most part, society is focused upon reducing consumption, this is good but not realistic for everyone. Carbon capture will buy us more time against climate change and offer a chance of redemption. Traditionally large-scale systems with power hungry fans are used to capture carbon, which require a high capital cost to the taxpayer and take many years to build. In addition, underground storage of carbon dioxide is very expensive.

“My solution is a passive system that relies upon the wake of passing vehicles to force air through the system, which contains naturally occurring Portlandite that reacts with the carbon dioxide. The cost of the kit is offset by selling the by-product which has a variety of uses, including building materials. This shifts some of the burden of net-zero to private households and offers consumers an alternative to reforestation for carbon offsetting.”

Vanessa and Max will be pitching their innovations against eight other teams of student and graduate innovators in the national final. A sum of £15,000 is up for grabs, providing vital seed money to help the winners develop their innovation. The winners will also receive mentoring from business leaders who are members of the Sainsbury Management Fellows (SMF) network, plus CV packages from PurpleCV and entrepreneurial books from Cambridge University Press.

The competition is organised by the registered charity, Engineers in Business Fellowship which champions business education for engineers and supports universities by giving them grants to award prizes to engineering students who develop ideas that can make a positive impact on society. The grants enable universities to inspire more engineering and technology students to participate in innovation and entrepreneurship, skills that they take into their careers.

Plastic Powered Train

The Engineers in Business competition is designed to inspire engineers to study business and innovation. Vanessa said, “The mind of an engineer is keen and adventurous, which can be applied to solve problems, whilst a business mind focuses upon risk and profits. Armed with both, the potential of that student is unlimited.”

My First Carbon Capture Kit

Max added, “Engineering is about solving practical problems and running a business is about identifying the problems people need solving. In my view, you can’t have one without the other.”

The dragons’ den style competition will be compered by TV presenter, Rob Bell. Competing against eight other teams, Vanessa and Max will each have six minutes to convince the judges, through their presentation and Q&A session, that they and their teams should be crowned Champion of Champions and take home a cash prize. Amongst other criteria, the judges will be assessing the potential benefits of Vanessa’s and Max’s innovations to fight against climate change.

The members of the judging panel are:

• SMF Caroline Cake, Entrepreneur in Residence at Oxford Science Enterprises

• Dr Terri Holloway, Ingenuity Lab Manager, Entrepreneur in Residence, University of Nottingham

• SMF Kwok Ng, Strategy Programme Manager, The Crown Estate

• SMF Chris Shelley, Chief Executive Officer, SolarBotanic Trees

Commenting on reaching the Engineers in Business Champion of Champions Final, Vanessa said, “It’s an incredible opportunity, even if you don’t win, the chance to network with mentors, engineers and professionals and businesses across the country, and have them genuinely excited and keen to hear your ideas, can be career-building.”

Max added, “Reaching the final can demonstrate to future employers that I can apply my interest in engineering in a commercially viable way. It also gives me the opportunity to access valuable coaching from business leaders and learn about the other interesting ideas submitted by other candidates.”

The two teams will be competing for an Engineers in Business Champion of Champions title against eight other teams from Imperial College London, University of Southampton (two finalists), Queen’s University Belfast, University of Oxford, Lancaster University, University of Nottingham, and The University of Greenwich.