23 June 2023 was a special day for Viktor Ryle Tamstorf. With a project designed to make clean drinking water available to as many people as possible, he won first place in DTU's Green Challenge conference for students—an honour that comes with a prize of 30,000 Danish kroner.
The project consists of a small disinfection unit that can purify rainwater collected in rainwater tanks if you add a modest amount of salt and electricity to the water. The technology behind it is electrochlorification, which is not a new technology, but the application is.
"I came up with the idea when I was developing ideas for my BSc project. I read a WHO article about contaminated water and came up with the idea of making a small water disinfection unit that is easy to use and which can make rainwater so clean that you can drink it," he explains.
For Viktor Ryle Tamstorf, the project is first and foremost about making a difference for people who do not have access to clean drinking water:
"The project is aimed at people who otherwise have to drink contaminated water, but it can also be used in EU countries with very little groundwater," he says.
Green Challenge as a confidence boost
For Viktor Ryle Tamstorf, particpating in Green Challenge was a chance to further refine his project, and also to test his idea on a whole new audience from many different backgrounds. The Green Challenge judging panels are composed of a broad mix of business people, politicians, and DTU staff.
"Participating in Green Challenge has boosted my confidence as a product developer and entrepreneur. It was a chance for me to spend more time and energy on my project, I received a lot of very useful feedback, and it was just great that the whole thing happened in just one day," says Viktor Ryle Tamstorf when asked what he got out of joining in.
Green Challenge is a celebration of sustainability in all DTU's study programmes and is based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Viktor Ryle Tamstorf's project focuses on SDG no. 6—ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
"The SDGs are so general that most projects will be covered, so my advice to other students who are thinking about participating is to just get on with it and sign up. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain, so just do it. Even if your product is not as fully developed as mine," he explains.
Viktor Ryle Tamstorf is still working on his project, and he hopes that it will soon be helping to ensure access to clean drinking water for even more people.
