Two IFP School students took part in the 2020 Stanford Cleantech Challenge

10 June 2020
Video of William Navarro and Gaëtan Vervaele's project

Two students of the Energy and Processes (ENEP) program attempted to solve one of the challenges of the Stanford Cleantech Challenge from April 18-25 2020.

This competition, which is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world, is the University of Stanford's annual clean energy hackathon. Given the current health situation, the challenge took place virtually. 

This year, three companies—EDF, Ford and Shell—posed challenges in grid resiliency, second-life batteries and hydrogen technology.

William Navarro and his teammate Gaëtan Vervaele, both 23-years-old, decided to focus on the hydrogen challenge.

Their goal: to propose a techno-economic model for developing a hydrogen commercial fleet in California.

During a week, William and Gaëtan collaborated remotely with two young Canadian students in order to develop an innovative solution. Although their idea was not selected by the jury, they were happy to participate.

"I really appreciate this experience, which has allowed me to develop my skills with teamwork and remote working" notes William. "We had the opportunity to have our project reviewed by energy sector experts and learned to present our ideas through the production of a video."

As for Gaëtan, he adds: "I learned a lot about the different sources of renewable energy in the transport sector. I also very much appreciated the discussions we had with the experts, who took the time to engage in in-depth discussions."

Discover William and Gaëtan's project