How do we turn Bornholm into a green island, getting most of the renewable energy production available? That is the main question 56 students did their best to answer in a course on Innovation and Facilitating in Engineering.
As part of the course, the students came to Rønne on a field trip organized in collaboration with Baltic Energy Island and Bornholms Energi og Forsyning.
The students are asked to focus on how to foster and strengthen local engagement. For some students that meant developing co-ownership models. Others envisioned integrating private solar panels and wind turbines into the grid using household batteries.
Sector coupling and circular economy were in focus too. A group proposed using sludge as biomass for heat production. An idea so impressive that the group won the composition on Pitch Day.
Another group chose an alternativ angle as they aimed to revolutionize the construction of submarine cables using magnets. And one explored upskilling efforts through a future Bright Bornholm Academy.
One group had walked the streets of Rønne to ask locals about their thoughts on the Energy Island project and sustainability in general. They discovered that the local population is very supportive of the green transition and even willing to pay for it. However, according to the students, that might not be necessary. For their final pitch, they presented an idea to use excess heat from future transitions for district heating on Bornholm—potentially reducing costs by two-thirds.
The field trip is part of “Grønne kvalifikationer” and co-founded by The European Union and Danish Bord of Business Development.
