A Harvard student, Sebastian Lindner-Liaw, built a compressed air-assisted bicycle instead of lithium-ion batteries as a capstone project. The Engineering Design Projects (ES 100) course at Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) challenges students to design a creative solution to a real-world problem. Sebastian's project aimed to explore the feasibility of using compressed air as an alternative energy storage solution that retains the advantages of electric bicycles, without the moral and ethical issues.
Currently, electric bicycles are popular, but their lithium-ion batteries have a high humanitarian and ecological cost. Through his project, Sebastian Lindner-Liaw seeks to bring an alternative to these batteries and demonstrate that compressed air can be successfully used for electric bicycles. In addition to the environmental benefits, this solution would also reduce dependence on rare metals, such as cobalt and lithium, which are often exploited under inhumane conditions and at high costs.
The project was an interesting challenge and required a lot of design and construction time. It required a detailed approach, but also brought significant benefits in terms of improving Sebastian's practical skills. Through his project, he demonstrated that it is possible to find sustainable alternatives to current technologies and that students have the potential to make important contributions to this process.
Source: Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences