Virginia Tech chemical engineering student team secures first place win in ChemE Cube competition

Virginia Tech's ChemE Cube team secured first place at the 2024 ChemE Cube Competition in San Diego, California. Hosted by RAPID Manufacturing Institute and sponsored by ExxonMobil, the competition challenged university teams to apply their chemical engineering knowledge to greenhouse gas solutions. Their task was to design, build, and demonstrate a one-cubic-foot miniature chemical plant for direct air capture and regeneration. The "Cube" signifies the one-cubic-foot size restriction that the plant must adhere to, a key element of the competition where teams must solve the provided chemical engineering problem within this specific size constraint. The Virginia Tech ChemE Cube team, composed of chemical engineering undergraduate students, showcased their Cube's performance in head-to-head duels and promoted their technology through a one-minute advertisement, a poster, and a 20-minute “Shark Tank”style pitch to a panel of mock investors.

Virginia Tech competed against 38 universities in the virtual qualifying round and was one of 18 teams selected to present their design in San Diego. Their task was to design a cube capable of capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) and recharging the captured material without releasing the CO₂ back into the atmosphere. Focusing the cube’s design on carbon capture is highly relevant, given that the increase in atmospheric CO₂from recent human activities has significantly contributed to climate change. Carbon capture is crucial because it helps mitigate these effects by reducing the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. Judging criteria included marketability, material selection, profitability, rechargeability, weight, capture cost, closest wager (or the most accurate estimate of the carbon captured by their cube), and overall design.

The team’s cube design was recognized as the best overall, and excelled in the pitch and advertising categories. Their outstanding performance in the head-to-head duels, where their cube competed against another university’s design to determine the best carbon capture, truly set them apart. The team earned full points in both of the duels they competed in, and earned bonus points for achieving the cheapest cost to capture carbon. Additionally, the team received the RAPID Award for outstanding sportsmanship and kindness, exemplifying Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) by lending parts to other teams to ensure everyone could compete at their best.

The team was also recognized for the following achievements:

• Cheapest cube
• Cheapest cost to capture
• Most carbon captured
• Lightest cube
• Second closest wager 

Associate Professor Michael Bortner of the Department of Chemical Engineering has been the advisor of the ChemE Cube team for the past three years. He says the team members have consistently improved their coordination, ideation, and communication through hands-on experiential learning each year. 

"The students have stepped outside of their technical comfort zone to attack a broad range of challenges, including financial analysis, defining value propositions, incorporating design principles used in industry, and even fundraising to help support participant costs,” Bortner said. “The team's initiative has maintained our competitiveness in a rapidly growing field of contenders, and is redefining ways to consider approaching the ChemE Cube competition."

This was Virginia Tech’s third year participating in the competition, having previously placed third in 2022 and second in 2023. The team aims to make a significant impact by developing innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges. Each year, their design approach evolves to address the conference’s specific problem statement, but their commitment to creativity, sustainability, and practical application remains constant. The team is already excited to begin addressing the new ChemE Cube challenge for 2025, anxiously awaiting the next competition problem statement and ready to embark on their next Cube design.

Chemical engineering senior Nadine van Westrenen, who has been part of the ChemE Cube team for three years and served as team lead this year, felt this was the perfect way to conclude her time with the team.

“This competition brings chemical engineering to life, combining teamwork with the challenge of designing a product that is not only functional but also cost-effective and marketable,” van Westrenen said. “I am incredibly proud of how each team member has grown and contributed to transforming our ambitious ideas into innovative designs.”

The ChemE Cube team credits much of their success to their industry sponsors: Phoenix Chemicals, Eastern Research Group Inc. (ERG), and DSM-Firmenich.