Jors (24) wins prestigious prize with graduate thesis on smart battery system (Lokeren)

With a smart system that controls 22 batteries in combination with 180 solar panels, Maldegem resident Jors Vandevelde achieved silver in the graduate tests category during the very first Future Proef Awards. For his thesis at Howest in West Flanders, he went to a goat dairy in Lokeren, where he also works today.

The Future Proef Awards reward final tests that contribute to a sustainable future. The very first edition received almost 200 entries from multiple educational institutions. An independent jury selected 16 finalists and the final laureates were announced during a ceremony at the VUB.

In the ‘graduate tests’ category, Jors Vandevelde from Maldegem took second place. For his thesis he went to a goat dairy in Lokeren.

“I developed a system with 180 solar panels and 22 batteries to optimize the dairy’s electricity consumption,” says Jors, who completed his graduate training last academic year. Internet of Things completed at Howest. “With the help of advanced software and European weather standards, I managed to calculate the generation, consumption and storage of solar energy in detail. Thanks to these predictions, the share of electricity purchased by the dairy fell sharply. Conversely, the use of renewable energy increased. With my project I not only ensured a sustainable energy supply, but also a significant saving on electricity costs.”

“Eating something good”

As a prize he received an amount of 500 euros and a frame with a poem. “With those 500 euros you can have a good meal,” he laughs. “But achieving second place is the best thing for me. I never thought I was going to win anything.”

The Maldegem resident is now working professionally in the goat dairy where he developed his final test. “The company was experimenting with it itself and is now installing it at other agricultural companies. Whether this system can also be used by private individuals? No, the size of the system is far too expensive for this. Private individuals no longer receive subsidies for such installations,” it said.