Berhampur students shine at National Urja Mela: Top prizes in science and quiz

Berhampur: Two students of private schools in Silk City bagged first prizes in the National Urja Mela held in New Delhi recently.Chinmayee Pasupalak, a Class IX student of Gurukul International School, got the first prize in science exhibition, while Prince Kumar Behera, also a Class IX student of KC Public School, bagged the top position in quiz. Brindarani Panda, a Class VII student of the same school, stood second in poster-making in the Urja Mela, organized by Tata Power.Pasupalak’s project on ‘Harnessing the Sun for Clean Energy: Solar Hydrogen Electricity Generation’, showcases a renewable energy system where solar power is stored as hydrogen and reused to generate electricity.Ranjit Kumar Panda, science exhibition coordinator who guided Pasupalak said electricity produced by solar panels is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen through electrolysis. “The hydrogen gas is then stored and supplied to a fuel cell, where it reacts with oxygen from the air to produce electricity and releasing only water as a by-product, making the entire process environmentally friendly.”By storing solar energy in the form of hydrogen, electricity can be generated even when sunlight is not available, he said.Around 1,000 students and educators from 200 schools across 15 states participated in the national-level completion. This year’s theme, ‘Clean Energy, Greener Tomorrow’, prompted participants to showcase STEM-based projects designed to tackle environmental challenges.