The hydrogen-powered bicycle made by a group of students and teaching staff from the Polytechnic University of Timisoara (UPT) will be exhibited to the public on Friday evening, in the university campus, under the auspices of the European Researchers’ Night.

The hydrogen-powered bicycle (H2-Bike Concept) was created within the project coordinated by professor Corneliu-Marius Craciunescu, member of the Romanian Academy of Technical Sciences, with the competition of a group of students from the Faculty of Mechanics of the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, composed of Deliana-Maria Duma, from the Materials Engineering specialization, Sergiu-Ionut Faluvegi, from the Road Vehicles section, and Albert-Cristian Forgacs, from the Mechanical Engineering section, with the technical support of Traian Bena PhD, from the Materials Engineering Department and Manufacturing, shows a press release from the UPT sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.

The multidisciplinary team succeeded in adapting an electric bicycle to a fuel cell system, which transforms hydrogen into electricity. It should be mentioned that hydrogen storage is done at reduced pressure, using metal hydrides, thus substantially reducing the risks related to the use of this type of energy.

The team that made the prototype proposed, in the spring, to make a bicycle powered by hydrogen, part of a wider project, which aims to educate and raise public awareness in the field of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The project, financed with Norwegian funds, entitled Romanian Network for New Energy Solutions (RONNES), coordinated by the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, is successfully implemented this year with Timis and Hunedoara county school inspectorates as partners. It aims to encourage high school students and university students, as well as the general public, to actively participate in the proposed activities, which aim to increase interest in green energy and promote available solutions, thus contributing to the societal transfer from renewable energy fossil fuels to clean energy.

In parallel with the training activities in the Faculty of Mechanics of the Timisoara Polytechnic University related to making the hydrogen-powered bicycle, 50 teaching staff (25 from Timis county and 25 from Hunedoara county) were selected, with the support of the county school inspectorates, to follow, in the next period, training courses on renewable energy, energy efficiency, hydrogen generation and storage, fuel cells, solar, wind and hydrothermal energy. This knowledge will be disseminated among about 4,000 students from the two counties.

The RONNES project has successfully passed the intermediate evaluation stage and is expected to reach its impact parameters upon its completion, which will take place at the beginning of 2024.