Benjamin Obeng, Bernard Aboagye Obeng and Emmanuel Dasinor from Arizona State University were awarded $13,000 at the ASU entrepreneurs Demo Day competition held earlier this month. The students have taken the thermogalvanic process being developed for bricks (See video at https://bit.ly/35DY6fO) and have adapted this for use as a ceiling tile to take advantage of the temperature differences between the ceiling and floor above.
Buildings consume 40% of energy generated globally with an expected 50% increase by 2050. This calls for a sustainable conservative approach of energy generation for buildings. The thermogalvanic brick project was originally funded by the PLuS Alliance and led by Dr Leigh Aldous (King’s College London), Professor Patrick Phelan (ASU) and Associate Professor Robert Taylor (UNSW Sydney). Professor Phelan is the Technical Advisor on the thermogalvanic ceiling tiles project.
Benjamin Obeng worked on the original thermogalvanic brick project. With his fellow collaborators, the U.S. registered VBeck LLB company was set up and a patent applied for. A test building has been identified in Ghana. The ceiling is the ideal spot where heat becomes trapped and the process is more easily implemented, relative to building a wall. The extensive work that has been carried out in recent months has improved the insulation properties of the brick 3 times more than a standard brick and this has influenced the composition of the ceiling tiles.
Next steps
More funding is required to progress both the bricks and the ceiling tile projects which will have a significant impact on the building and construction of buildings in the future. Interest has been expressed from construction companies in the U.S. and the company Mindful Martians in Arizona have committed to test the ceiling tiles in their office building.
Read more about the ASU Demo Day at https://asunow.asu.edu/20200505-entrepreneurship-asu-entrepreneurs-pitch-video-online-demo-day-competition
Contact Bisi Olulode, Communications Officer Olabisi.olulode@plusalliance.org
