Bas Vermulst

‘I simply cannot sit still and do nothing.’ Perhaps that statement best summarizes both the personal motto and the personality of Bas Vermulst. The energetic Assistant Professor in the Electromechanics and Power Electronics group is the latest addition to the organizing committee of TU/e’s EnergyDays, which discusses recent developments in energy issues.

When it comes to the energy transition, Bas Vermulst calls himself a true idealist. ‘For example, I cannot bring myself to take the car to come to university. I always commute by bike, even though I do not live around the corner.’ It is also this idealism that led him to develop a smart solution to boost the heat efficiency of common radiators, in his spare time. ‘Despite the fact that our house was built in the seventies and is not very well isolated, I really wanted to replace my central heating boiler for a heat pump. So I came up with an idea to install computer fans inside the radiators to improve the air circulation and thus boost the radiator’s heat transfer capability.’ This worked remarkably well. Now, under the name HeatBooster, Vermulst and his life partner sell the printed circuit boards that control the fans and the associated software he developed.

But that is far from all. Through the company Solardoctor, which he started together with his associate Erik Lemmen, Vermulst also installs solar panels and provides consultancy work and expert advice in the field of complex PV installations and investments. ‘I have always loved the combination of working as an academic and keeping in touch with industry,’ the enthusiastic scientist and entrepreneur explains. ‘That is why for example, while conducting my PhD research, I also held a parttime position at Prodrive Technologies.’

Allrounder
If anything, Vermulst doesn’t like to restrict himself. Not to one activity, nor to one topic, one discipline, or one application. So, in the case of his entrepreneurial activities, he does not only develop the required hardware and software, and install solar panels himself, but also developed toolchains to dimension the best solutions for the user’s individual circumstances. In his research at TU/e he takes the same approach: he is always looking for possibilities to combine hitherto separate fields.

‘The common thread in my research is that all of my work is about improving the performance of power electronics. In our current society, power electronics is omnipresent. Almost any electronic application, ranging from actuators in lithography machines, to computer power supplies, and fast charging stations for electric vehicles, would not operate without power electronics. They are an essential ingredient, and as a result there is a lot to gain by improving the power conversion in such systems.’ That not only goes for lowering the energy consumption of such systems, but also for the overall system performance.

'One project I am particulary proud of resulted in a new type of control for plasma reactors. We not only managed to make the reactor five times more energy efficient, but our system also lead to a much better control over the plasma properties themselves'

Powering plasma
‘One project I am particularly proud of resulted in a new type of control for plasma reactors. We not only managed to make the reactor five times more energy efficient, but our system also lead to a much better control over the plasma properties themselves. And besides pleasing the involved company, since they could now improve their plasma-based lithography process, the work also resulted in a paper in a physics journal, which is rather unique for an electrical engineering project.’ The approach Vermulst took in this project is exemplary for all of his activities. ‘I like to do things differently and to philosophize about outside-the-box ways of achieving something. So, instead of starting with what was already there, we first dove deep into the plasma physics. That is also what I like best about my job as a researcher: I get to explore the possibilities of applying power electronics in new applications and to build fruitful bridges between different disciplines.’

Positive contributions
If Vermulst sees a possibility to make a positive contribution, he will not hesitate. For example when during covid, the air quality in schools became an issue, that got him thinking: Why is there no system that measures the air quality in an entire school and uses Wi-Fi to provide a central overview of all of the different classrooms? ‘That is how I ended up developing a system that can monitor and preferably also control the amount of CO₂ in the air or the ambient temperature.’ But also when last summer he read the statement of Robert-Jan Smits about the required pace of the energy transition, the researcher did not hesitate and wrote a commentary piece on LinkedIn disputing the views of the President of TU/e’s Executive Board. ‘I find it important to debate viewpoints, especially in an academic environment, since such debates are a breeding ground for new ideas and essential for truth-seeking,’ he says.

Heleen de Coninck had seen his contribution and invited him over for a coffee. ‘And that is how I got involved in the EnergyDays organizing committee,’ he laughs. The first edition Vermulst cooperated on will be held on Thursday 21 March 2024. ‘The topic is net congestion, which is rather close to my field of expertise. As far as I am concerned, there are two main challenges we need to work on urgently. The first is to expand our electricity grid to be able to meet the increasing demands for electrical energy. The second is to develop solutions to overcome seasonal imbalances in the yields of renewable energy sources. Activities like the EnergyDays are important to create awareness of such topics among a broader audience, both of the problems we are facing and of the technological solutions that are available. I am convinced that by sharing information we can overcome resistance and make the necessary changes happen.’