About RIFT
- Founders: Mark Verhagen, Vincent Seijger and Lex Scheepers
- Founded in: 2020
- Employees: 16
- Money raised: -
- Ultimate goal: Igniting the clean fuel revolution.
Anyone thinking about the energy transition soon associates that with electricity and hydrogen. But Renewable Iron Fuel Technology (RIFT), which sprang from the SOLID student team at Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, is convinced that iron fuel is also indispensable for a sustainable future. For industry, this circular fuel that the company produces is an ideal alternative to gas.
Recently, the start-up (which was founded in 2020) won the Gerard & Anton Awards: an award given to the most promising start-ups from the Brainport region. CEO Mark Verhagen talks about how the company is doing in this instalment of start-up of the day.
How does it work?
RIFT’s system works as follows: iron powder is burned in a boiler. This releases a lot of heat, e.g., for use in heat networks. What is left over is rust powder. You can use hydrogen to convert that back to iron powder, and in that way you “recharge” the powder and create a circular fuel.
Why does the world need iron fuel?
“Industry accounts for 52 percent of all CO2 emissions. It is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, but the time has come for it to decarbonize. At present, there are two alternatives available to facilitate that: hydrogen combustion and electrification. However, the hydrogen network is not adequately in place as yet while electrification is not capable of meeting the needs of large companies all of the time. Which means that much of the puzzle basically remains unsolved. Iron fuel represents an ideal solution. That’s because you can easily adopt that technology in any location.”
How efficient is the use of iron powder compared to, for instance, hydrogen?
“One of the properties of iron powder is that you can easily store and transport it. Whereas hydrogen experiences efficiency losses during transport, this is scarcely the case with iron powder. That said, our technology does tend to lose slightly more of its efficiency during the production of the iron fuel. But ultimately, you do end up with a relatively high efficiency rate ranging from 65 to 81 percent.”
Which phase is RIFT currently in?
“We are in the ‘proof of concept’ phase. In the meantime, we have two plants up and running: Our production plant at the Energy Demo Field in Arnhem and our combustion plant in Helmond at Ennatuurlijk. At this point, we are collecting test results and if all goes according to plan, we will be able to share these with the general public in November.”
What has been your biggest milestone so far?
“Helmond and Arnhem are now home to the world’s first systems that are able to provide proof that the technology works in its entirety. I am tremendously proud that we have managed to do that with the team and our partners. The first test results are also looking good. That demonstrates that the most important elements are working. That’s also a milestone for us, because on that basis, we will be able to follow through with investors.”
What else still needs to be done before you can commercialize the technology?
“We are in the process of further optimizing the technology. For one thing, we need to ensure that the system is running properly and achieves the highest possible level of energy efficiency. Also, the system has to be completely dependable for long-term use. Once we have that sorted out, then we will start thinking about the fine print. We have to make sure that our system complies with all of the laws and regulations.”
And in addition to optimizing our system, we also have another major challenge to deal with. That is, we are looking for staff to bolster our team. Right now there are 16 of us and we want to scale up to 20 people.”
What is your dream for the future?
“Our goal is ultimately to save a gigatonne of CO2 per year by 2050. I hope that we will be making a major contribution to the global energy supply by then. Gas, oil and coal will then be a thing of the past and electricity, hydrogen as well as iron powder will be part of the energy supply of the future.”
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