A Dutch startup started experimenting with powdered iron in a lab until it turned into a fuel powerful enough to run factories and even rockets

How we fuel the world and our collective progress is changing.

For the best part of the last three decades, the world has been embroiled in the “green energy transition”. But when a Dutch startup began experimenting with powdered iron in a lab. Who would’ve thought that they might have stumbled on the next major clean energy revelation?

How can powdered iron run factories and even power rockets?

How the world has accelerated the transition away from fossil fuel-based energy

The green energy transition has been picking up major momentum in recent years.

And the leaders and heads of state from several nations have reaffirmed their commitment to transitioning away from coal and oil. Across the majority of energy-producing nations, renewable energy is now the cheapest form of energy production.

And the benefits of clean energy have become clearer and clearer in recent years.

Only two years ago, roughly 91% of newly commissioned clean energy came in far cheaper than their fossil fuel-powered cousins. This has been made possible through the efforts of companies that were started to advance the standing of renewable energy across the international market.

The time has come for the world to fully transition to clean energy

Commitments made by nations at the Paris Agreement ten years ago have been reaffirmed in recent years, even as new leaders and administrations are elected.

The question becomes, what is the most effective large-scale renewable energy generation method to accelerate the green energy transition? Many have turned to remarkable new solar power technology, with the sector even being used to light up city streets with delicious, clean light produced by renewable energy.

Solar power has shifted from a niche sector for the climate-conscious to a sector that can combine tech with art.

New developments have seen solar-powered homes emerging that bring the dream of a life disconnected from the grid to reality. Such as a solar-powered system that can be installed in your home that produces a spectacular, interactive lightshow.

But the world of technology and science is far from done with the energy sector.

Renewable Iron Fuel Technology, or RIFT if you prefer, is a startup that spun off the Eindhoven University of Technology. And the team from RIFT has been working diligently on what could be the next major innovation in energy generation technology.

Iron has another purpose that RIFT has recently developed

RIFT has been working on a new use for powdered iron.

The company, which has some of the best minds in Europe, has been working on a new purpose for powdered iron that was inspired by the work of Professor Philip de Goey from the Eindhoven University of Technology.

De Goey’s research focused on how metal powders burn in zero gravity, but the team quickly realized that his research could be implemented here on Earth.

We have seen new types of systems being developed that allow solar and hydrogen to be used as primary energy sources to light up our homes, but this innovative development is going to change the energy game.

How burning powdered iron produces energy for the world

RIFT has commercialized the process of burning powdered iron to produce heat, which can then be converted into electricity. The process produced zero emissions of harmful carbon, and the rust byproduct could even be recycled and converted back into fuel using green hydrogen.

As we know, heat can be converted into energy and electricity.

So while some have found what they believe to be “the new gold” in energy production, this innovation has taken the lessons learnt by science to develop a game-changer in the international energy sector.