UP students win competition for generating electricity from water vapor

Patrick Parone and Hannah Ramos, BS Mechanical Engineering students of University of the Philippines Diliman, were hailed as Country Champions in the recently concluded Philippine finals of Schneider Electric’s Go Green 2020. Their winning project is a portable water purifier designed to generate electricity through water evaporation. Dubbed Kislap, it is inspired by the current living situations of Filipinos in rural areas.

Go Green is a global competition organized by Schneider Electric (SE) – an energy and automation digital solutions provider – to empower students to come up with solutions that will shape the future of the energy industry.

Patrick Parone and Hannah Ramos’s Team Scintillans bagged the coveted award, besting 352 hopefuls nationwide in the process.

“Every day, there is always a challenge to shift into more sustainable energy sources to mitigate, if not eliminate, some of the global problems,” said Parone. “We thought of a source that is ubiquitous yet untapped—water evaporation. If we could find a way to harness that energy, it could be a major step towards sustainability, especially since the majority of Earth is composed of water.”

“With our idea, Filipinos living in rural areas can turn their water collected from deep wells, rivers, and rain safe to drink with the sun’s energy during the day and can act as the community’s source of light during the night,” Hannah Ramos said.

The passion to make a difference

Ruth Kharen Ramayla, Schneider Electric’s Industrial Automation Director, led the panel of this year’s judges and acknowledged the relevance of Team Scintillans’s project.

“Schneider Electric, through Go Green, has always been on the lookout for the next bold ideas from our students,” she said. “What sets the winners apart is the passion to make a difference, and I see that in Team Scintillians’s Kislap. It is grounded on a plight many Filipinos have, and I am excited not only for Patrick and Hannah, who showed smarts and resourcefulness, but for the future beneficiaries of the project.”

The winners, along with the ten other finalists, were mentored prior to the finals by coaches from SE Philippines, headed by country president Alexandre Vermot.

“Filipinos are naturally resourceful, and Filipino students are no exceptions,” Vermot said. “With the existing social and environmental challenges, it is empowering to see how the youth can draw inspiration from these circumstances and rise above them through ingenious solutions.”

Parone and Ramos will represent the Philippines in the regional finals, to be held virtually, where they will be up against student delegates across Asia-Pacific on April 16, 2020.