Portland State Magazine Fall 2019

11 FOR ABOUT $5,000 and an hour of your time, Turner Automotive has a plan to convert your 1994 Honda Accord—or any gas-engine car—into a zero-emissions vehicle. The key is hydrogen and a conversion kit. The kit was invented by Portland State students who want to reduce carbon emissions. At PSU, that sense of innovation is ingrained in the student body. It’s not uncommon for students to not only think about problems, but develop solutions, too. The PSU Cleantech Challenge—where Turner Automotive first unveiled its conversion kit—is emblematic of that drive to change the world. The challenge gives students an opportunity to invent a solution to one of the numerous environmental issues facing society today. This year’s Cleantech Challenge launched not only Turner Automotive but a second PSU team as well, Lite Devices, into the InventOR Collegiate Challenge. InventOR is a statewide competition focused on solutions to social and economic challenges facing Oregon. All told, 21 teams competed from 17 different Oregon colleges and universities. Turner Automotive and Lite Devices represented PSU. "When we empower students to see themselves as Turner Automotive inventors, it changes their perspective,” says Juan Barraza, who manages the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship, Cleantech Challenge and InventOR. Both Turner Automotive and Lite Devices took different approaches to the same underlying core issue: protecting the environment. THE CONVERSION kit created by students Blake Turner and Sean Krivonogoff, utilizes a car’s existing engine and its components, meaning after it’s installed, the car can switch back and forth between gasoline and hydrogen as needed. Turner, a PSU engineering student who developed the concept driving Turner Automotive, says the ability to switch back and forth between two fuel sources will allow consumers to use clean energy when it’s available, and gasoline when it’s not. As it stands now, hydrogen fueling stations are operating only in California. But Turner says they hope the flexibility the kits provide will pave the way for a focused effort to make hydrogen fuel more accessible. They also plan to offer a specialized service—possibly mobile—to install the kits for customers. The hydrogen car isn’t a new concept, BMW developed a version of its 7-series called the Hydrogen 7 in 2005. But the car never permeated the market. And with a $118,000 price point, it wasn’t affordable to the general public. Turner says recent technological advancements in carbon fiber have allowed his dream to become an affordable reality. All the students, including Blake Turner, presented their inventions on stage at their university and at a state challenge.