Student works on electricity-saving invention
Youngster wants to bring change to the electrical world in South Africa with his new invention.
An electrical engineering student from Ekurhuleni West College (EWC) Kempton Park Campus believes he has an invention to save electricity.
The Zimbabwean-born Denzel Tagu (21) relocated to South Africa in 2016 and lives with his aunt in Birch Acres. He started his electrical engineering studies in 2016.
“I realised there can be a way to save electricity and I put my mind to it,” said Tagu. “The invention is to replace a combustion engine with ‘spring engine’ in power generators,” he said.
“The combustion engine uses fuel and emits a lot of carbon dioxide. I came up with an alternative that works on the same principle of the combustion engine, but which does not use combustion.
“This invention is to replace the combustion engine for generators with an engine that is powered by springs that will turn the grand shaft to produce the rotational motion. I will couple it with a magnet and windings of wire. When the magnet turns, it produces electricity.”
Tagu started building his ‘spring engine’, as he calls it, in May last year and hopes to complete it by next year May. This, he says, will be dependent if he gets funding of about R50 000. He will look for investors when the project is complete.
“The engine has been tried and tested by myself and my lecturer. I went for many different approaches and now I am working on the final stages,” says Tagu.
The Birch Acres student was a finalist in the inventor’s garage category at the South African Innovation Summit in September in Cape Town, but could not attend the event because of lack of funds.
His present project is a prototype but he looks forward to having a workshop to complete the project.
“I started working on this project on campus which is a bit of a disadvantage, because the campus closes at certain times on weekdays and is closed on weekends,” he said.
With the help of his physical sciences lecturer Abia Masekela, Tagu wishes to complete the project.
If you would like to donate funds, material or a working space to Tagu, contact him on 061 764 5199 or email tagudenzel@gmail.com.
