Engineering news
Amrit Chandan won the Hawley Award for environmentally beneficial engineering innovation for work with the business he co-founded, Aceleron. Dr Chandan received the award yesterday at the Worshipful Company of Engineers’ annual awards dinner in London, for Aceleron’s work on Project NuCycle.
The project developed a quick testing process for used batteries from electric cars and laptops, checking if they are safe and usable. Aceleron aims to use the process at recycling hubs in the developing world, testing and then combining batteries into packs to store energy for communities with little or no available electricity.
Chandan said he was “delighted” with the award. He said the recycled batteries could have a “huge impact” on people’s health in poor countries, where old lead-acid batteries are often the only source of electricity for many people.
Lead batteries such as used car batteries are relatively inefficient, unsafe and heavy, an important factor in developing nations where people may have to carry them for many kilometres before using them. In Kenya, smelters melt down the batteries in open-air recycling plants, contaminating water supplies and causing widespread lead poisoning.
Aceleron hopes to introduce its lithium reuse hubs in Africa, Central America and other places around the world, providing a cheap, more efficient and lighter power source from batteries which would have been wasted without its testing process.
“There are reports from the UN that directly link economic wellbeing or development to energy security,” said Chandan to Professional Engineering. “Giving people access to better-quality batteries is helping in that regard. There is the impact on health, there is the impact on sustainability as well, and providing better routes for battery waste management in regions where there is little to no regulation at the moment.”
A panel of senior engineers were impressed by Chandan’s innovation and the potential for a significant positive environmental impact. “My motivation has always been wanting to make the world a better place in any way I can,” he said to PE.
“I think as humans we have a mission in a way to help others, especially those who are less fortunate. We are very fortunate in this country and in other developed regions to have access to things which we all take for granted, so I think if an engineer can do something which helps – whether that’s from a sustainability point of view or improving people’s lives – then that should be absolutely key.”
Chandan formed Aceleron with Carlton Cummins while at the University of Birmingham. The company, which is looking for investment for its work, is also supplying batteries for other projects such as an electric bike manufacturer.