Student project using seawater to power abra ride wins award
dubai — A feasibility study that will convert seawater into electric energy to power abras has won as the Best Student Project at the 11th Dubai Award for Sustainable Transport (DAST) on Wednesday.
Senior students Farah Khalifeh, Tasneem Alamari and Israa Alani at the University of Sharjah’s Department of Sustainable and Renewable Energy Engineering said their project is a hybrid use of solar photovoltaic (PV) and fuel cells that has the potential to power the network of abras in Dubai Creek.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, they explained that the PVs will harness solar energy that in turn will power the process of desalinating seawater. The desalinated fresh water will then pass through an electrolyser, a device that will split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrical energy.
The oxygen will go into the air and the hydrogen will become the main energy source of the fuel cells, which will be used for the propulsion and other auxiliary power needs of the abra.
In July last year, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) launched a 20-seater water taxi that runs on solar power. The electric abra, that services the creek between Al Seef and Festival City stations, is powered by a 20KW electric motor and runs on 26 lead crystal batteries with solar panels on top. There is also a standby generator to recharge batteries when they are low on power.
With the student project, however, ferries will no longer need to use diesel and if their project comes into fruition, there will be zero carbon emission from the abras.
Fuel cells are green storage systems that produce only water, electricity and heat, none of which are harmful by-products.
“Fuel cells are already being used to run electric vehicles but the hybrid power source will be the first in the UAE to power marine transport and we are using resources that are readily available — the sun and seawater,” said the trio, who got their idea from their
We will have sessions to help all the winners, including the students and universities, to develop their ideas.” Abdulrahman Al Janahi, general secretary, DAST
college supervisor Dr Chaooki Ghenai. They explained that solar panels will be placed on the roof of the abra while the battery, inverters and other mechanisms for the fuel cell will be placed in the engine room.
After winning the award from the RTA, the trio said their next step is to have a prototype to have their study.
“At the moment, we are using the facilities at the university to continue our study but we are also looking for financiers to support our environmental project,” the senior engineering students said.
Abdulrahman Al Janahi, general secretary of the DAST, said the RTA will help the students.
“We will have sessions to help all the winners, including the students and universities, to develop their ideas and see how the RTA can benefit from their initiatives and researches,” Al Janahi told Khaleej Times.
“Through the years, the DAST has served the RTA’s strategies to help reduce traffic congestion, encourage the use of public transport and become environment-friendly. The DAST has also inspired more students to boost our efforts in promoting
sustainability,” he added.
Meanwhile, Aysha Hasan from the British University of Dubai won second place in the Best Student Project category for her initiative on priority indicators for the lighting of federal roads in the UAE while third place went to Mohammed Amer Mohammed Al Midaff, Haza Ahmed Mohammed Al-Ali and Khalifa Yousef Mohammed Al Zarooni from the Applied Technology Secondary School in Sharjah for their project on road crossing device for visually impaired individuals.