School of Sustainable Energy Engineering

Transforming ideas into impact: SEE students showcase their sustainable designs

April 15, 2025

To mark the end of the spring term, the School of Sustainable Energy Engineering hosted an afternoon dedicated to creativity and innovation, with two project showcases at the SFU’s Surrey campus.

The event kicked off with capstone presentations in the SFU Engineering Building (SRYE) Atrium, where fourth-year students presented their final design projects to fellow students, faculty members and the SFU community. The teams from the SEE 411 class partnered with industry partners and academic supervisors to develop prototypes that address real-world challenges in sustainability, technology and engineering. The course challenges students to apply their knowledge from the SEE program to research, design and build a functional system. Some of the innovative designs included a coal plant dryer hydrogen retrofit and solar powered portable water purification system for remote and Indigenous communities. It was announced that the JEMM Carbon Team were announced as the People’s Choice Award winners for their design of a carbon capture and utilization module.

Following the capstone presentations, first-year SEE students also presented their project to peers and high school students invited to view their designs. For their cornerstone showcase, teams from the SEE 111 class were tasked with developing a sustainable engineering design. Projects included a dynamo powered water filter, an integrated wind energy solution and a plant microbial fuel cell.

Both courses were led by SEE lecturer Mina Xu, who supported the students throughout the term in bringing their ideas to life.

SEE 411

Learn about some of the innovative designs

Design of Carbon Capture and Utilization Module
People's Choice Award Winner

Sponsor: Delta Controls
Team members: Erin Flood, Jasleen Sandhu, Megan Zelasky, Michael La Grange

Carbon Capture and Utilization Unit for HVAC - Sponsored by Delta Controls - We, JEMM Carbon, focuses on reducing building emissions of HVAC systems. Our team designed a coconut shell-based activated carbon, retrofittable carbon capture unit to address this challenge by adsorption carbon capture and reutilization of the carbon dioxide to create sustainable concrete. This project aims to drastically reduce the carbon footprint of the building industry, which currently produces 37% of global emissions, contributing to advancements in decarbonization for existing HVAC systems.

Coal Plant Dryer Hydrogen Retrofit

Sponsor: EVR
Team members: Lucas Federucci, Omar Abumuaileq, Kaleb Carlson, Ben Jansen-Budzik

Industrial Dryer Hydrogen Retrofit - Sponsored by EVR - We, the Hydrogen Heroes, focus on reducing the Greenhouse Gas emissions from an industrial coal dryer. Our team retrofitted the system to use hydrogen as an alternative fuel to address this challenge through hydrogen's zero-emission combustion. This project aims to promote sustainability in the steel-working coal industry while encouraging natural gas companies to adopt hydrogen as a viable, eco-friendly alternative, driving advancements in the future of energy for industrial applications.

View full list of SEE 411 projects >>

SEE 111

Dynamo Powered Water Filter

Team: Amped for Change
Team members: Jagos Pesic, Viktor Pesic, Hana Bigelow, Caitlin Swan

This project includes a hand crank powered, two-stage water filtration system that provides safe drinking water for the user. The system is a two-phase process which includes a sand filter for removing larger particulates and a UV chamber for inactivating bacterial contaminants.

Heating and Ventilation Systems

Team: LG²
Team members: Yaseen Khawaja, Jim Nosella, Leen Saleh, Francisco Sandoval

Using only passive solar energy input, the team built two different models of a Passive Housing concept without using any fans or heaters; a Trombe wall. One for heating, and the other for ventilation.

View full list of SEE 111 projects >>