“It is often possible to quickly extinguish a battery fire at a recycling plant, but it is not yet possible to prevent the fire,” says Dirk van Meer. CORE Changemakers, a student team from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), is developing a solution to this problem. The team wants to help companies transition to sustainable and circular processes.
Prevention instead of a cure
Preventing battery fires is one of the team’s main projects at the moment. They occur because people throw away batteries in regular trash. The battery from a greeting card with a music track can be enough. If such a card ends up in the waste paper, things can go wrong when sorting the waste. This is because cardboard is pierced from the old paper using spikes. If such a spike pierces through a battery, a fire could result.
The students are developing an AI system to recognize batteries in the waste even before it is processed. “The system can signal a robot to remove the battery automatically. But there are also simpler solutions: a light can track a battery in the recycling line until an employee has taken the battery off the belt. With this, we can prevent battery fires, improve safety and reduce CO2 emissions,” said Van Meer.
Drive to circular
Van Meer has been committed to a circular economy for seven years. As a chemistry student at TU/e, he founded Team CORE alongside his studies. The team developed a special oven to recycle batteries and other e-waste, something that was almost impossible to do as yet. The team was allowed to build a test installation in Moerdijk, but the nitrogen crisis threw a spanner in the works. The students decided to shelve plans to build the furnace.
But the drive to contribute to the circular economy remained. “Then we started looking at whether we could help existing factories become more sustainable and transition to circular processes,” Van Meer outlines. The student team has since expanded to include members from other universities, colleges, and, as of September, MBOs.
Science in practice
The projects are instructive for the students, but also for entrepreneurs. SMEs are particularly interested in solving circularity issues with a student team, the CEO outlines. “It is difficult for them to acquire the right knowledge. Governments often don’t have this in-house and the scientific angle is actually too theoretical and complex. As a student team, we can bring science and practice together.” The entrepreneurs pay for the work done. “This way we are not dependent on sponsors to be able to run as a student team.”
Despite the fact that there is indeed a business case to be made for CORE’s services, making a profit is not so high on the priority list. “We consciously choose to remain a student team and not become a start-up. Our prices are accordingly,” the CEO says.
CORE campus
Therefore, CORE Changemakers has also set up a CORE Campus in addition to the circular projects with entrepreneurs. This is a digital learning environment for students to learn all about topics such as chemistry, as well as marketing, sales, and management. Van Meer: “These are not long lectures, but short films with practical information that can be applied immediately in the field. That’s where we can make a difference. A student team is a great place to learn a lot about this. We need to harness that potential.”
There is a lot of focus from CORE on coaching and support in various forms. Something Van Meer missed when it comes to mentoring student teams from the university. “If a project goes well, the university is involved. But when things are less successful and students need help, I feel there is not enough attention.” He would like to see a better balance. “That’s why at CORE we chose to make student personal development a core business, though.”
Collaboration
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