News

Mechanical Engineering PhD students, Moe Kabbara, and Louis Degrosseilliers, have created a new type of thermal energy storage. It's like a space heater that works like a hand warmer.

The premise is nothing new, chemical heat storage is used in handwarmers that contain a compound called sodium acetate trihydrate. When the hand warmer is activated, the liquid inside heats up and the contents turns into a crystal or solid.

"We are essentially doing the same idea, but in a much more sophisticated and engineered way," explains Desgrosseilliers. 

Kabbara (an international student from Lebanon) and Degrosseilliers (from Waterloo, Ont.) are aiming to produce a unit that is used as a secondary heating source. The partners recently formed NeoThermal Energy Storage to continue working on the technology for use in home heating. They are currently in the process of applying for a patent for their technology.  

Last week they won a $50,000 prize in the Innovacorp Smart Energy Demo Challenge. Read more about this exciting new concept in the article featured in the Chronicle Herald.