March 1, 2021 / 28 STEM scholarship holders have developed a patent-ready solution for smart, energy-autonomous cell sites. A partnership between the women’s career network Femtec and Deutsche Telekom made the project possible. They have now presented their results.
At the start of the project in September 2020, the participants had no idea where the journey would take them. The female students in STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) all decided to pursue the topic voluntarily. Their deliberations focused on major questions, such as: How can the power consumption of cell sites be controlled intelligently? How can energy be generated from renewable sources on site, and how can the generated energy be stored?
In a collaborative project between the Femtec network – an organization devoted to supporting women’s careers – and Deutsche Telekom, they would develop ideas for implementation options over the following five months, together with experts at Deutsche Telekom. Their motivation was twofold: the young talents would have the opportunity to work in an innovative, digital growth area hands-on, while at the same time making a valuable contribution to fighting climate change.
A flying start was followed by weeks of intensive collaboration, resulting in patent-ready innovation concepts for smart, energy-autonomous cell sites. At the virtual closing event of the Femtec Innovation Lab, the participants raised the curtain and presented their results for the very first time. In addition to employees from the innovation area, Claudia Nemat, member of the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management responsible for Technology and Innovation, also attended and opened the event with a keynote speech.
The idea: develop the energy-autonomous cell sites of tomorrow
The impetus behind the solution developed by the participants was to eliminate “white spots,” i.e., places where there is currently no mobile communications coverage. They began the search for an innovative solution. To provide an autonomous energy supply for the radio antennas that is independent of the electricity grid, the scholarship holders conducted research on an alternative power supply based on existing and innovative renewable sources.
After an extensive examination of the options, the budding scientists focused on generating power from wind and solar cells and assessed the latest storage options. As part of the solution, they developed the prototype of a GPS-based planning tool, which automatically compares relevant parameters, such as geographical, economic, and topological qualities. This will make it possible in future to derive recommendations as to where the concept for energy-autonomous sites can be realized and in which combination. To control the power consumption of the cell sites intelligently, the participants worked in parallel on smart software to regulate the interchange between the energy source and the loads as efficiently as possible. The emphasis here was to ensure resource-friendly and reliable operation of a cell site. To enable storage of energy that was not used immediately and to create reserves, they also researched an innovative, sustainable (carbon neutral) energy storage option. And their concept even won over the experts at Deutsche Telekom. Shortly before their final presentation, their solution was filed as a patent for the company.
More about the Femtec Innovation Lab and talent promotion
Deutsche Telekom has been a partner to the Femtec Innovation Lab since 2007, a career-building program for female STEM students aimed at developing and supporting young STEM talents in parallel to their degree courses. Deutsche Telekom supports this project, since the Group offers exciting entry and development opportunities to graduates of STEM subjects. Through regular partnerships on innovative topics and in digital growth areas, the scholarship holders experience first-hand the many innovation topics and career prospects that Deutsche Telekom has to offer.
And how did the “Energy-autonomous cell sites” research project come about?
This year, the Technology & Innovation Program with its focus on sustainable, energy-efficient network technologies at Deutsche Telekom, under the responsibility of Leif Heitzer, really put something exciting together in collaboration with Deutsche Funkturm GmbH (DFMG), Power And Air Condition Solution Management GmbH (PASM), and Technik Deutschland. With this Program they applied at Femtec Innovation Lab and won one of the two finalist positions.
By the way: As a part of the Group-wide sustainability program “we care for our planet”, it aims to develop innovative technical solutions for sustainable, energy-efficient network technologies and their operation, together with partners from industry. And thus reduce the Group’s CO2 footprint, even as increasing digital connectivity demands more energy.
The virtual event at a glance
A cooperation between the women's career network Femtec and Telekom. In just five months, 28 MINT scholarship holders developed a patent-ready solution for smart, energy-autonomous cell phone sites. © COM
In her keynote speech Claudia Nemat, member of the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management responsible for Technology and Innovation, she emphasized the importance of supporting women in STEM subjects and Responsibility. “Sustainability doesn’t only mean being climate-friendly; it also means being future-proof, economically viable, and taking responsibility for social and digital matters.”
“We offered the students the challenge of developing a potential concept for site planning, devising energy storage and reduction options, and creating possibilities for energy management and power generation,” explained Sonja Schmitt from Technology Innovation. She served the Femtec scholarship holders as the project manager at Deutsche Telekom throughout the entire process.
At their closing event, the young talents presented their results. The result was so good, in fact, that it was filed as a patent for Deutsche Telekom shortly before the final presentation.
“My general motivation for taking part in the Innovation Lab was my desire to gain practical experience at a company alongside my studies and to work on a larger project. I’ve spoken about the Workshop with students from other years, too, and often heard that it’s an excellent opportunity and a unique experience to work on a project with such a big group of my peers. I also see the Workshop as a huge opportunity to take my first steps into professional working life alongside my studies, in a relatively sheltered environment and guided by project coaches.” Ana Bendiek Laranjo, studying Civil Engineering (B.Sc.). Her motto: Audeamus! (translated: “Let us dare!”)
“In the larger context, I think sustainability has a lot to do with being aware of our responsibility to future generations. I’d like to leave something behind that’s worth living for the generations to come. Hannah Romberg, studying Energy Engineering with a specialization in regenerative energy technologies (M.Sc.). Her motto: “Have fun and keep moving!”
“Working on the topics of sustainability and energy efficiency is one of my clear goals. My long-term objective is to implement sustainability strategies in industry. In our generation in particular, it’s THE topic that lots of people want to get involved in, because we’re experiencing the impacts of climate change up close and can make an important contribution to fighting this crisis.” Sophia Laurel von Berg, studying Technical Environmental Protection (M. Sc.). Her motto: “Let’s spread the spirit”
After the event, the virtual applause lasted for minutes. At the follow-up Q&A session, the audience members agreed: it’s impressive to develop something like that– and even get it patent-ready – in such a short time. The scholarship students were also very satisfied. They made a photo collage as an expression of their thanks. (The image shows an excerpt.)
Apply until March, 14th for the Women’s STEM Award 2021 and get the 3,000 € prize money! Your bachelor or master thesis deals with: Cloud, IoT, AI, CyberSecurity or Networks. More information is available here.
