Degree structure

Energy Conversion and Storage is a master’s track in the Mechanical Engineering Master’s Program. This means that you apply for the Master’s Program in Mechanical Engineering (CROHO: 60439) and specialize in ECS. This master’s track offers a two-year program (120 ECTS), with the first year revolving around courses. The second year is dedicated to the internship (15 ECTS) and graduation project (45 ECTS). After completing the program, you receive a Master’s diploma in Mechanical Engineering stating your specialization in Energy Conversion and Storage

Year 1

The first-year course program comprises a selection of core courses (20 ECTS). You choose at least four core courses from the list below:

• Advanced Engineering Mathematics
• Experimentation for Mechanical Engineering
• Sustainable Energy Sources
• Interfacial Transport Phenomena in Engineering Flows
• Scientific Computing for Mechanical Engineering
• Engineering Optimization

In addition, you choose at least four specialization courses (20 ECTS) from the list below:

• Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics
• Gas Dynamics
• Heat and Flow in Microsystems
• Microscale modeling of heat storage materials
• Modeling Combustion
• Thermal Energy Storage
• Thermal energy storage and demand
• Hydraulic Turbomachines
• Energy Geoscience
• Optical Diagnostics for Combustion and Fluid Flow
• Clean Engines and Future Fuels
• Energy transition – the path towards net zero

You are welcome to customize your course program in the 15 ECTS of free electives and follow professional skills courses (5 ECTS), focused on career development, teamwork, academic writing and more.

Year 2

The second year is all about learning how to apply the disciplinary knowledge and skills acquired through your course program. In your internship (15 ECTS) you apply your know-how in an industry project or at a research institute. After your internship, you work on your graduation project (45 ECTS). This ECS graduation project revolves around academic research, allowing you to specialize in the ECS aspects of your liking.

Graduation project

In your graduation project you apply the know-how and skills acquired through your course program and internship project to an academic research project.

Examples of recent ECS graduation projects are:
Development of a fuel injection equipment characterisation setup
Hydrogen is expected to take a prominent role in heavy-duty transport, off-road, and stationary power generation applications of the future. To accommodate for this future, fuel injection equipment needs to be developed and characterized. During this graduation project, a setup which can measure the momentum and mass flow coming from liquid fuel injectors was developed, built, and tested in the lab.
Guidelines for including the use of gaseous fuels were provided, so that the setup can be used for hydrogen in the near future.

CCS: Zooming into CO2 trapping in subsurface reservoirs
In this project, we used advanced X-ray imaging techniques to see how different fluids move inside rocks. It allowed us to determine and quantify how fluids like carbon dioxid get trapped in the rocks pore space. The results aid the development of reliable reservoir management tools for carbon sequestration (CCS), which will help us store carbon dioxide safely underground. This project was executed in collaboration with partners from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)  and Stanford University.

The Mechanical Engineering pre-Master’s program

The Mechanical Engineering (ME) pre-Master’s program is intended for students who have not been granted direct admission to the ECS Master’s track. These students include:

• Bachelor graduates from TU/e programs (or other Dutch universities) who did not obtain a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering or equivalent
• Graduates from University of Applied Sciences (HBO) Mechanical Engineering programs or equivalent

The ME pre-Master’s typically takes one semester and is worth 30 ECTS. You acquire the necessary background to enable a seamless and successful transition into the ECS Master’s track. Included in this ME pre-Master’s are courses in calculus, thermodynamics and Heat & Flow. For further information please consult the Education Guide*.

*Note: students use the Education Guide as a source of information. It contains detailed, practical information that is important during your study program. Prospective students can consult the Education Guide for additional information.