Students from Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences tinker at ITQ Makeathon on Gran Canaria

Innovative approach to battery recycling utilises residual energy for hydrogen production

Most people probably first associate Gran Canaria with sun, beach and holidays. However, a group of students from Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences were in for four days of intensive work instead of relaxation. At this year's ITQ Makeathon, the island was transformed into a laboratory for the participants at the Infecar exhibition centre in Las Palmas under the motto of event founder Dr Rainer Stetter, ‘Smart Green Island’. The group was accompanied by Andreas Menslage and Claas Schott, scientific and technical staff from the Engineering, Sustainable Energy and Environmental Technologies and Embedded Systems Design degree programmes.

At a Makeathon, young people come together to work on innovative ideas. The focus is on jointly solving tasks set by companies. Almost 600 students and pupils from over fifty countries took part in this year's event. The Bremerhaven students were part of the B&R team, which consisted of 62 young and enthusiastic talents from twelve universities and schools in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and India. The team focussed on the question of how electronic waste can be recycled and developed an innovative approach for dealing with used battery cells over the four days.

From the idea to a functional prototype that tests defective battery cells, categorises them, sends them for reuse or recycling and can be powered by renewable energy: That was the challenge the B&R team set itself. ‘The team members worked intensively in five subgroups to find industry-oriented solutions to identify and categorise individual battery cells with the help of an image processing system, measure their internal resistance and determine the capacity of the cells through a discharge and charge cycle,’ says Dipl.-Ing. Claas Schott.

In order to store the energy released when discharging the cells, a group under the supervision of Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Menslage and Dipl.-Ing. Claas Schott built a station with an electrolyser to produce hydrogen and store it temporarily in a self-built storage unit. This hydrogen was then reused with a fuel cell to generate part of the electrical energy at this station, which was needed to recharge the batteries. It was also possible to use a photovoltaic module at the station to generate and temporarily store additional energy required for the process. ‘The testing and identification of battery cells in conjunction with renewable energy is a very good example of the important role that automation technology can play in realising the recycling of raw materials and the energy transition for society. At such an event, you can also experience how teaching content can be transferred to practical operations,’ says Menslage. 

This is the third time that students from Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences have taken part in the ITQ Makeathon. For their supervisors, this is a great opportunity for the budding engineers. ‘The collaboration and exchange between young people of different nationalities was a great living and learning experience for the young people and for us. In just four days, they had to realise an idea, set up structures, manage the project, create the prototype and put it into operation in a very short space of time. It was truly exemplary teamwork and a team effort that everyone can be proud of,’ says Schott.