500 houses CO2-neutrally heated with iron powder
11 May 2023 – RIFT, the spin-off that emerged from student team SOLID, has successfully completed its first major test. RIFT heated five hundred homes in Helmond through the so-called Iron Fuel Technology, in which a heat boiler generates heat through the combustion of iron powder. This way, no CO2 was released when households turned on the heating or stepped into the shower.
The test took a total of 40 hours. In that time, 5 tons less CO2 and 66 percent less nitrogen were emitted than is normally the case. RIFT’s technology was connected to the homes in Helmond via the heat grid of energy supplier Ennatuurlijk.
RIFT heats water for the heat grid by burning iron powder. This creates a huge flame that heats a large boiler. No greenhouse gases are released in this process. The only residual product is rust, which can be converted back into iron powder. Households themselves do not notice this process: hot water is hot water, regardless of how it is heated.
Photo: Krols Media/TU/e
