Small solenoid valve – large saving
Bürkert Fluid Control Systems competed in this year’s Environmental Technology Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg with an innovative solenoid valve. With great success: the fluidics specialist was nominated for the prize and received an award.
Bürkert awarded with certificate as part of the Baden-Württemberg Environmental Technology Prize
Every two years, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry for Environmental, Climate and Energy Industry has awarded innovative environmental technologies that contribute to resource efficiency and environmental preservation since 2009. The prize is endowed with a total of 100,000 Euros.
In 2023, over 100 companies from Baden-Württemberg entered their products and procedures for a chance to be nominated with their innovations.
Bürkert Fluid Control Systems participated in the Energy Efficiency category with the “Type 6724 Whisper Valve” solenoid valve in the pulse version and was nominated for the prize. As part of a celebratory event at the end of October, Chief Technical Officer Stefan Müller, Product Manager Michael Hartte and Ralf Scheibe from the Research & Development Department received the certificate from State Secretary Dr. Andre Baumann.
“The Environmental Technology Prize is a good opportunity to raise awareness of innovative technical solutions and present them to a wider audience. The exchange between companies has been strengthened and enables thinking outside the box,” says Ralf Scheibe of the advantages of participating in the competition.
The advantages of the Type 6724 Whisper Valve
The Whisper Valve submitted is a small solenoid valve that only needs a short current pulse and then maintains its switching position. By comparison, a classic solenoid valve needs a permanent current. The electricity demand in operation is therefore significantly reduced with the Bürkert valve. In terms of figures, this means that it only requires approx. 0.5 per cent of the usual energy demand compared to a standard product. “This means that batteries and power supply units will become smaller and resources can be saved in different areas of the end device,” explains Ralf Scheibe, and adds: “It has also been constructed – unlike the standard commercial valves today – so that materials can be separated by type.” However, to reliably connect the individual components, snap and press-fit connections have been used, for example. “Along with energy saving, this is another important aspect with regards to environmental protection and resource preservation,” states the team coach from the Research and Development Department at Bürkert.
Even with three other companies taking the top places in the Energy Efficiency category, Bürkert received prize money of 1000 Euro along with the certificate for the nomination. This will now be donated to the BUND, the Federation for the Environment and Conservation. Bürkert will still be tinkering around with efficient innovations in the future, because “the prize motivates us to keep working on solutions that combine technological progress with environmental protection,” summarises Ralf Scheibe.
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