Kirstie
Gildemeister and Kelsey Fitzgerald are winners of a Braun Student Inventor
Award for their idea that improves energy storage.
South Dakota Mines students Kirstie
Gildemeister and Kelsey Fitzgerald have won a Braun
Student Inventor Award for developing a more efficient and robust system to
split water into oxygen and hydrogen gas. Their invention increases
effectiveness of solar powered hydrogen fuel cells which can be used to store
energy needed during peak demand.
Their
company Hydrolyst LLC
and the product they have invented, have the potential to greatly improve the
effort to store and save energy generated by solar and wind power.
“We’re
essentially splitting the water molecule, in a process called electrolysis
that’s been around for years, but currently commercially available products are
somewhat fragile and not all that reliable,” says Fitzgerald who serves as
company CTO. “We have developed a much more robust and mechanically sound
system that generates hydrogen from solar power,” Gildemeister, company CEO,
adds.
The
invention could be revolutionary when it comes to the effort to improve the
storage capacity and use of clean energy. The device is part of a system that
utilizes a solar array to power the water-splitting reaction, the hydrogen that
is produced can be used as clean fuel for generators or electric vehicles. The
system could also be used in conjunction with a battery bank tied to a solar or
wind farm to diversify energy storage options.
The
Braun Student Inventor Award includes $5,000 in cash and a free patent
application from Goodhue, Coleman & Owens, P.C. The award was established
to recognize a South Dakota Mines student who has made a significant discovery
or invention while enrolled. Gildemeister
and Fitzgerald believe the system they have developed could be very beneficial
for the Department of Defense working in remote areas to produce their own fuel
on site. “The great thing is this system is scalable, it can be used for
everything from a small farm to power a whole city,” says Fitzgerald, who came
up with the original idea while working on an off-grid farm in Kentucky.
Both Gildemeister
and Fitzgerald are completing their master’s degrees in materials engineering
at Mines. The two left jobs in industry to pursue this business. “The success of
our company is our end goal, and we will be working hard to see it through,”
says Gildemeister. The two are building a prototype on a small farm near
Ellsworth Air Force Base that includes a solar array and hydrogen generation system
which will showcase the technology.
Gildemeister and
Fitzgerald also won the $20,000 first place prize at the 2021 Governor’s
Giant Vision Business Competition.
Mines
student Kim Yip Chiok won the second 2021 Braun Inventor Award for a new type
of bandage that improves healing process for burn victims. Read more here.