Bio-Fuels & Fuel Cells Technologist Inerview
: Job Details :

As our reliance on Electricity grows year on year, we need to tap into diverse and sustainable sources of power such as Biomass, Fuel Cells and other renewables – Solar + Wind, Hydro.

Vikrant Venkatraman, our next pathbreaker, works as Process Engineer at BDI-BioEnergy International GmBH (Austria), a company that designs, engineers and builds biofuel plants.

Vikrant talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy fromThe Interview Portal about his PhD research on using high temperature heat from fuel cell exhaust to run a thermally driven refrigerationsystem, thus achieving cooling with residual energy which would otherwise be discarded.

For students, as we progress in our career, we need to learn and develop other skills and areas of expertise, and thereby bring a broad array of skillsets so that we can cater to different job roles in the company.

Vikrant, can you share your background with our young readers?

My name is Vikrant Venkataraman, I was born in Pune and grew up in Chennai and Chennai has been my home ever since. I studied in a central government school and did quite well at school. My parents always wanted us (myself and my brother) to have the best education possible so that we can find a career that we want to pursue.

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

After finishing high school, I studied Electrical Engineering for my Bachelors (BTech Anna University) and later in life pursued a Masters in Sustainable Energy Technology from Delft University of Technology. I also did a PhD in Chemical Engineering (Fuel Cells) from University of Birmingham.

What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional, and unique career in Renewable Energy?

Several people and events/circumstances helped me choose the career and studies that I pursued at different stages of my life. For studying electrical engineering, I got inspiration from my uncle who was working at Siemens at that point in time. When I started working for Ashok Leyland after my BTech, I was interested in working for a company that was involved in core businesses and not going into software like everyone else did. The inspiration to pursue masters in Sustainable Energy Technology came from my desire and wish to learn about new technologies that were climate friendly. The desire to pursue a PhD was because I loved doing research and finding new things.

So the result is at every stage of life some new interest kicked in and new motivation got into my head which made me take the decisions on what to pursue.

How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Tell us about your career path

I started my career at Ashok Leyland as a Graduate Engineer Trainee and later worked as a Deputy Manager in the department of Vehicle Electrical & Electronics.

Here, my primary responsibilities were vehicle electrical drawings along with support for manufacturing and strategic sourcing teams. My other responsibilities included new product development with vendors.

After spending three years here I decided that I wanted to study further and thus moved to The Netherlands to pursue my Masters degree.

Prior to pursuing my masters, I did a lot of trips to Alwar in Rajasthan and for that I always had to pass via Delhi. During this time I often visited my cousin sister and her husband who were doing a lot of work on air pollution analysis and they inspired me to think along the lines of sustainability and that made me interested in looking for a course which relates to renewable or sustainable energy.

In the first year of masters, one is exposed to different renewable energy technologies and in the second year one can specialise in a certain field. I chose to focus on high temperature fuel cells and that was more chemical & electro-chemical engineering than electrical engineering. I did my internship at Twilight BV which was a very fresh start-up. The founder just had an idea for smart street lighting for energy savings and he roped in a couple of students to help him with the initial prototype. I was primarily involved in the development of the hardware for this prototype.

My master's thesis project was to understand fundamental mechanisms behind fuel oxidation at the anode part of the high temperature fuel cell (known as Solid Oxide Fuel Cell).

I was looking for PhD opportunities to continue my research in the field of fuel cells and that's when I met Prof. Robert Steinberger Wilckens in Brussels and he was impressed by my burning desire for research and my preliminary thesis proposal and that's when he offered me a fully funded international scholarship to come to the University of Birmingham.

So basically I got inspired by how technological things work and how science can be wonderful if understood correctly and deeply and hence I was looking for opportunities for pursuing my PhD which then landed me a position at the University of Birmingham in the UK.

The primary focus of my PhD research was on using the high temperature heat from the fuel cell exhaust to run a thermally driven refrigerationsystem. This way one can achieve cooling with residual energy which would anyway be discarded.

There is an YouTube video where I explain my thesis. Link is here

After finishing my PhD, I pursued a career in academia as a postdoctoral researcher because I wanted to stay in academia.

In my first postdoc position at Delft University, I worked on the topic of reversible fuel cells where the device can not only work in fuel cell mode but also in electrolysis mode thus having the options to switch between the two modes depending on the application's need.

In my second postdoc position, I worked as a Technical Manager for two EV (Electrical Vehicle) projects where we were trying to design and develop a novel thermal management system for EVs when they were charged at a higher rate.

After about 2.5 years I found an interesting role in industry where I could have the best of both- research and real world product experience. That brought me to where I am today.

How did you get your first break?

The first job I got was via campus recruitment when I was in my fourth year (of my Bachelors).

After my PhD, I had applied to AVL via their website where I saw a job opening which needed somebody with Solid Oxide Fuel Cell expertise and they found my CV interesting enough and called me for an interview.

AVL is the world's largest privately owned firm which provides engineering services, simulation services and instrumentation and test bed services.

I worked in the department of Instrumentation and Test Systems where I was responsible for development of the test beds for Solid Oxide Fuel Cell systems.

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

Life is always full of challenges – personal and professional. The art is in learning the techniques to find a way to overcome and solve these challenges. An example of a challenge I faced was getting a visa for the UK where I had an offer to pursue my PhD. The process took nearly 6 months and I had almost given up hope. As I started to make a plan B and look for other opportunities and I even ended up with a job offer, the UK visa came through right on time and then I was crystal clear on what I wanted to do in life. Sometimes in life when challenges are thrown, one must learn to face them head on.

Where do you work now? What problems do you solve?

I currently live and work in Austria. I work as a Process Engineer and I design, engineer and commission biofuel plants at BDI-BioEnergy International GmBH. A typical day at work will be understanding the needs of the project, designing diagrams and solutions based on sound engineering principles and interacting with customers to understand their needs.

The thing that I love about my job is the flexibility I have with regard to work time and the fact that I get to work on cool new things.

BDI Bioenergy International is an EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) firm which designs, engineers and builds biofuel plants. The value that BDI brings in is the pre-treatment of waste oils and feedstocks which can then be converted to biofuels via our knowhow in process engineering. Thus any waste feedstock can be converted into useful fuel which can then be used for transportation.

What are the skills required for your role? How did you acquire them?

One's career is like the letter T, initially (the first few years) one works in the vertical part of the letter, thus very specialised and related to what one studied at the university. But as we progress in our career, we need to learn and develop other skills and areas, and thereby bring a broad array of skillsets so that we can cater to different job roles in the company.

How does your work benefit society?

We create solutions for producing fuels from waste feedstock (waste oils, greases etc.) which would anyway be discarded. Thus we turn waste into a useful product which the society can use.

Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!

When I was working for AVL as an Application Manager, I managed to publish three patents and that is a memorable experience. This showed me that I am capable of thinking in an innovative and out of the box manner and come out with new ideas.

Your advice to students based on your experience?

Never compare yourself with one another. Your life and journey is unique and you will always get and achieve things in life when it is the right time for you.

Future Plans?

Currently I am pursuing a professional certificate degree in ‘Industry 4.0' besides my full time job. I would like to also establish my own consulting business where I render my knowledge and expertise to people and businesses in order to find the right solutions for decarbonisation.