Flemish Thesis Award 2020

Out of 508 submissions, only one thesis could be crowned as the best for the Flemish Thesis Award 2020. And in 2020, that honor went to our very own COREnauts  Sebastian Baes en Jan Denayer!

In their master's thesis titledModeling and Impact Analysis of Heat Extraction from Surface Water‘, Sebastian and Jan investigated the potential of extracting heat from river water. They developed a mathematical model that can predict the temperature change of the river when a certain amount of heat is extracted, based on factors such as river properties and weather conditions. It is crucial to ensure that the temperature of the river does not decrease by more than 3 degrees as it has implications for the river's ecosystem. 

The model was specifically applied to analyze the potential of the Dijle between Leuven and Mechelen. The conclusion is that both Leuven and Mechelen could utilize "blue heat" from the Dijle to heat their city centers from February to November. This can be achieved without exceeding the critical temperature threshold, ensuring the preservation of the river's ecosystem.

The jury of the Flemish Thesis Prize praised Jan and Sebastian for their innovative and valuable work, which is packed with strong mathematics and clear writing.

We are extremely proud of the work that Jan and Sebastian have accomplished, and we are delighted to continue their research within CORE.

Read het artikel van VRT Nieuws about their victory. If you want to learn more about heat extraction from rivers, be sure to check out our projects under Blauwe Warmte.