Energy Futures | Preethi Jayakumar
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Detailed Description
Energy Futures looks at the development of a novel emerging energy system by repurposing brewery wastewater and brewing waste by-products through a biotechnological approach. This project revolves around responsible Innovation through co-design with various stakeholders to create a solution that is planet and human -centered. The outcome is presented as a public engagement installation to improve energy literacy and invite conversations of such complex yet necessary discussions around energy with people.
Project Details
- Does your design take social and cultural challenges and human wellbeing into consideration?
The key aspect of this project is to bringforth co-designing with various stakeholders. For this project a range of technical experts in wastewater, microbiology, electrical engineers, and government authorities dealing with councils in London and energy decentralisation, and the final stakeholder who are the end-user : people, were connected with the execution of this project. A public engagement exercise was conducted with the working system for people to comment on their thoughts of such a future. It was interesting to observe how people shared skepticism and opportunities for improvement to make these systems scalable.
- Does your design support sustainable production, embodying circular or regenerative design practices?
Emerging energy systems often pose problematic for the waste that would be created by developing novel infrastructure and rendering existing infrastructure irrelevant. The system designed in this project tackles this by repurposing existing waste by products of the brewing process such as wastewater and spent yeast. Energy is produced through a magnetic bacterial species called magnetotactic bacteria which grow using the nutrients in these waste sources. This helps in treating the wastewater as well which means breweries can reuse that water to make beer. The grown bacteria contains magnetite in their body which is made to pass through magnetised copper coil where a change in magnetic field induces energy. As the system operates on the principles of operation of a transformer, the infrastructure needed to build this new system is based on existing transformer infrastructure. Hence principles of circularity are thought of in various aspects in the design and operation of the system.
- Does your design use principles of distribution and open source?
The project's core value is inclusivity and equitable sharing of information around complex innovation for every stakeholder to take part in the co-design process. The different processes involved in energy generation using brewery waste have been presented in a visually explanatory and intriguing manner for people to feel excited about the future of such technologies. These allow for different stakeholders to offer their recommendations to improve these energy systems from their technicalities, to their contextualisation in public environments.
- Does your design promote awareness of responsible design and consumption?
The project proposes a future where localised energy production is possible through brewery wastes. This idea has been extended into a future study where brewpubs can have these reactors on their tables. Culturally, it has been designed for the context of London where the energy crisis has had several socio-cultural repercussions such as pubs and bars shutting down due to poor energy management. There's an ailing energy literacy which has also contributed to the mismanagement of the crisis. Through this project centered around generating a future where the present seems culturally bleak, it seeks to shed light on the convergence of technology, policy, and innovation with social agenda's changing likewise. Hence, through a public engagement, people were asked how they felt being so close to their energy source where everytime they share a drink, they are aware of their consumption powering systems around them. The cultural changes that such a system would bring about will be an interesting discussion to have with people.
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