Galway student wins national award for arctic trucks' invention

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

A student from NUI Galway has scooped a top award for an invention which reduces wind drag on articulated trucks and cut their fuel costs by up to €5,000 per year.

Justin Conboy from Salthill won €10,000 in cash and another €20,000 towards consultancy work, patents and marketing for the product through his new business.

If he secures seed funding for the venture, Drag Reduction Systems Ireland, the product could be on the market in 12 months – local company Iggy Madden Transport has already agreed to help with trials.

His team, DRS.ie, was selected from 360 entrants to win Enterprise Ireland’s Best Entrepreneur in the ‘Think Outside the Box’ Awards in Dublin.

Mr Conboy told the Sentinel that the judges were “jumping out of their seats” when he made the presentation with teammates Dearbhaile Forde and Garrett Archbold.

The self-inflating balloon is designed to fill out the gap between the cab and container on articulated trucks, and initial tests have shown it can cut fuel consumption by around 8%.

“The next step is meeting with Enterprise Ireland and Grant Thornton (who arrange startup packages for businesses). Enterprise Ireland will be giving us advice on seeking seed funding.

“We will need wind tunnel testing, which is being done in college, and full-scale testing. There is 100,000km of testing to do. Eire Composites in Indreabhán are working on a suitable material for the product, we need to test the durability of the product because it will last for ten years. The material will be sonically welded, so it’s high-tech stuff.

“I believe we can get the funding we need through investment also. We’ve already been approached for a share purchase by Irish investors.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do this, and wouldn’t have won without Dearbhaile and Garrett’s help. They were an integral part of the entry, and I definitely want to continue working with them on this.

“The judges were jumping out of their seats. We nailed the presentation, and they had very few questions, which is a good thing! Half the reason for the win was the product itself, the other half was our enthusiasm. We had great help and support from NUIG too, particularly Mary Dempsey, the Head of Industrial Innovation in the Energy Systems Engineering course,” said Mr Conboy.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.