BioLite- a cookstove that reduces air pollution 95%, while generating off-grid electricity
3 billion people around the world cook on highly inefficient, polluting open fires within their homes. This toxic pollution contributes to 2 million premature deaths each year, according to the WHO. The BioLite HomeStove slashes emissions by 95% through the use of innovative technology that converts waste heat into electricity that powers a fan for an ultra-efficient fire. Excess electricity can be used to charge LED lights, mobile phones, and other small electronic devices, providing a unique incentive for adoption and use. We are currently piloting the stove in India and Ghana, and will scale up rapidly. We plan to provide stoves to 1 million families in the next 5 years.
Sobre Você
Sobre Você
Nome
Adele
Sobrenome
Peters
Perfil no Facebook
Sobre Sua Organização
Nome da Organização
BioLite
Página da organização na internet
Telefone da organização
347.529.5720
Endereço da organização
68 Jay St, Suite 309, Brooklyn, NY 11201
País da organização
Estados Unidos , NY, Kings County
Países onde este projeto vem gerando impacto social
Índia, MM
Sua organização é
Privada
Há quanto tempo sua organização está em operação?
Entre 1 e 5 anos
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INOVAÇÃO
Nome Projeto/Inovação
BioLite- a cookstove that reduces air pollution 95%, while generating off-grid electricity
Qual a mudança que você quer trazer para o mundo?
3 billion people around the world cook on highly inefficient, polluting open fires within their homes. This toxic pollution contributes to 2 million premature deaths each year, according to the WHO. The BioLite HomeStove slashes emissions by 95% through the use of innovative technology that converts waste heat into electricity that powers a fan for an ultra-efficient fire. Excess electricity can be used to charge LED lights, mobile phones, and other small electronic devices, providing a unique incentive for adoption and use. We are currently piloting the stove in India and Ghana, and will scale up rapidly. We plan to provide stoves to 1 million families in the next 5 years.
Quais são as principais atividades do seu projeto?
We are working on bringing the cookstove to market. Over the past two years the HomeStove has evolved from a proof of concept model to a fully field-verified product. We have conducted extensive user testing to ensure that the product fully meets local needs. The company leaders have significant experience in consumer product development, and have leveraged their capabilities in product design, fluid and thermal systems engineering experience, and data gathered from our prior and current small-scale field trial programs to refine the design to meet cost targets and ensure reliability and durability sufficient for three years of regular use in the field. BioLite is now beginning to conduct large scale pilot programs and transitioning from the development stage to mass manufacture. We have established initial partnerships with retailers across India, and have participated in a number of studies. We are also beginning work with Columbia University in Ghana on a study of prenatal health backed a $2.5 million grant from NIH. By the end of 2012, our pilot programs will be completed, and we will begin reaching consumers at a large scale.
O que é inovador sobre a seu projeto? De que forma ele é uma nova contribuição para esse campo de atuação?
Previous designs for improved cookstoves can be classified as “rocket” stoves or “gassifier” stoves. Rocket stoves have shown strong field acceptance due to their low cost and simple operation, but only achieve a 20% smoke reduction. Gassifier stoves can provide greater than 90% smoke reduction by adding fans to promote complete combustion; however, these stoves require an external electricity supply. The BioLite stove solves these problems by converting a fraction of the fire’s thermal energy into electricity to power emissions reducing fans, achieving 95% reductions in emissions and a corresponding improvement in health and living conditions for rural communities.
The unique ability of the BioLite stove to produce electricity plays an important role in making the stove an aspirational item for developing world consumers. Previous cookstove designs didn’t fully take users' needs into account, and struggled to gain adoption. By offering a stove that can not only reduce emissions and fuel use, but can also charge small electronic devices, BioLite has clear advantages over previous designs. There are now over five billion cell phone subscriptions worldwide, with a large percentage of users in the developing world. Access to cell phones provides myriad benefits, including, for example, applications for improved health, finances, or agricultural production. Since many cell phone users lack access to reliable or affordable electricity, the BioLite stove can have a significant impact. The stove can also be used to charge other life-changing electronic devices like LED lights.
Em que estágio está seu projeto?
Em execução entre 1 e 5 anos
Conte-nos sobre a comunidade em que atua. Por exemplo, as condições econômicas, as estruturas políticas, normas e valores, as tendências demográficas, história e experiência com as tentativas de mobilização.
We have chosen to focus our initial efforts on India's 160 million biomass-burning households, and in particular the 110 million homes that use wood as fuel for cooking. In India, biomass cooking accounts for more than 570,000 premature deaths and over 4% of the country's total global warming emissions. In December 2009, India announced its National Biomass Cookstove Initiative (NBCI) to bring improved stoves to each of the millions of homes using biomass fuel. The program focuses specifically on delivering advanced biomass stoves that provide dramatic emissions reductions like those of the HomeStove. We have formed relationships with key personnel in the NCBI. 400 million people in India also lack electricity, and many more lack reliable access to electricity, so there is a significant demand for BioLite’s ability to generate electricity to charge small devices. In India, over 800 million cellphones are in use, and that number is rapidly growing. Off-grid consumers travel long distances and pay between $1-2 per month to recharge phones at retail charging businesses. Indian consumers off the grid are also forced to use dirty, expensive kerosene lamps for lighting. Buying fuel for these lamps can account for between 5% and 30% of a family’s income. By combining fuel and time savings with valuable electricity, consumers will have a quick 7-month payback period when they invest in our stove. Other clean cookstoves have previously been introduced in India, so some consumers there are familiar with them, and there is already demand for this type of product. The combination of these factors makes India an ideal location for us. We have strong partnerships in India to facilitate manufacturing, marketing, and distribution.
Compartilhe a história do(a) fundador(a) e o que o(a) inspirou a iniciar este projeto
The core technology in the BioLite HomeStove was invented in 2006 by two experienced product developers, Jonathan Cedar and Alec Drummond, originally in response to a need they recognized for a highly efficient, petroleum-free camping stove. Both worked at Smart Design, the acclaimed consumer product development consultancy based in New York City. They later realized the potential for the technology to have significant benefits for rural populations in the developing world. Inspired to help improve health and save lives, and to make their idea for this promising technology a reality, Jonathan became BioLite's first full-time employee in 2009. The company is now 5 full and 4 part-time employees, and preparing for the launch of its first two products.
IMPACTO SOCIAL
Temas relacionados à inscrição
Por favor, descreva como o projeto tem sido bem sucedido e como esse sucesso é medido.
We have proven that our technology can successfully reduce pollution by rates that are unmatched by any other off-grid cookstove, and these results have been verified by an independent laboratory. As compared with a cooking fire, the BioLite HomeStove reduces carbon monoxide by 91%, and particulate matter by 94%. It also reduces fuel use by nearly half, which has economic and time-saving benefits for families. Field tests have further verified the dramatic emission reductions of the HomeStove. We have also evaluated potential consumer interest in the HomeStove through a number of studies, including user testing and interviews conducted with Sakhi Retail, an experienced retailer in rural markets in India. These studies have demonstrated strong consumer interest in both the smokelessness of the HomeStove and its unique ability to generate electricity.
Quantas pessoas foram impactadas por seu projeto?
< 100
Quantas pessoas poderão ser impactadas por seu projeto nos próximos três anos?
> 10.000
Em desafios anteriores, participantes bem sucedidos apresentaram um plano sólido detalhando como farão para crescer. Informe os principais marcos de crescimento do seu impacto previstos para os próximos seis meses .
In six months, we will be finishing manufacture and moving to at-scale pilot programs in selected locations including India, Ghana, Uganda and potentially Kenya.
Atividade 1
We will fabricate, debug and test the latest version of our stove, make a production sourcing trip, and select materials for production.
Atividade 2
We will conduct our third round of field tests of our prototype in Ghana, India, and other locations, in preparation for our large pilot programs.
Atividade 3
Following the field tests, we will analyze data and make any necessary adjustments before full production and dissemination of the stoves.
Informe os principais marcos de impacto previstos para os próximos 12 meses.
In 12 months, we will be four months into our at-scale pilot programs and beginning to evaluate the data we are collecting.
Atividade 1
We will work with our manufacturer to produce the final HomeStove, and work with our pilot program partners to distribute all of the stoves.
Atividade 2
Working with our channel partners, we will evaluate various methods of distribution, financing models, and marketing and advertising methods.
Atividade 3
We will continue to evaluate stove performance, ease of use, and durability.
Como seu projeto se expandirá ao longo dos próximos três anos?
We will scale from pilot programs (thousands of stoves) to mass consumer sales (hundreds of thousands of stoves, growing to over one million stoves in use by 2016). We will work to encourage the spread of the HomeStove to new regions, and will adapt the stove itself as necessary based on cultural contexts. As the HomeStove enters widespread use and our sales and marketing team grows, our product development team will work on creating additional products that solve other health and livelihood challenges.
SUSTENTABILIDADE
Quais são as barreiras que podem dificultar o sucesso de seu projeto e como pretende superá-las?
One challenge is marketing our product in rural markets; because the HomeStove has numerous benefits for consumers, and because the product is new and unique, it's challenging to communicate benefits concisely. As North Americans, we are also learning about the subtleties of the different cultures in which we will be selling the stoves. To overcome these challenges, we will be working closely with experienced retailers based in the regions we will work in, as well as in-country brand and marketing consultants.
Another challenge is the initial cost of the product. Although we have worked to manufacture the stove at the lowest cost possible, it will still be a significant investment for families in the markets we'll serve. We will work to help make it as accessible as possible by exploring options for micro loans. We are also researching carbon financing; carbon credits are currently trading for $9-10 on the voluntary market, with cookstove credits trading at a premium $15-18.
Por favor, explique de que forma o estabelecimento de parcerias é importante para o sucesso de sua inovação
We have already developed strong partnerships with a number of organizations and individuals. We have worked closely with Indian consumers, as well as Indian retailers, to best understand the needs of users there. We are currently working with Columbia University on an 1800-stove study quantifying the prenatal health benefits of ultra-clean cookstoves in Ghana. We have also worked with UC Berkeley School of Public Health to develop a low cost stove usage monitoring system that can record in-home operation in order to verify health and climate benefits. These devices can also provide data about the physical performance of our stoves as well as how our customers are using them. We are working with the Indian Institute of Technology and the National Biomass Cookstove Initiative to manufacture the HomeStove in India and test stoves in a pilot program. We are also members of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, a public-private initiative that aims to create a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions. The Global Alliance’s interim target is to enable 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cookstoves and fuels by 2020.
Orçamento anual atual do projeto em US$:
$500.001‐1 million
Detalhe as suas escolhas acima
The initial work on this technology was self-funded by $50k in cash from company founders, and involved thousands of hours of volunteer work from our team of product developers. This year, we received investment from Toniic, a group of action-oriented investors working together to increase the velocity of money to the impact investment field in order to address global problems like poverty and climate change. Toniic invests in a wide range of solutions, from solar chargers in Africa to health clinics in India. We have also received investment from Disruptive Innovation, founded in 2007 by Harvard Business School's Clayton Christensen, the NY Times bestselling author of The Innovator's Dilemma, and architect of the framework of disruptive innovation. Christensen's co-founders are Matthew Christensen, previously a consultant with Innosight and the Boston Consulting Group, and Whitney Johnson, formerly a double-ranked Institutional Investor equity analyst at Merrill Lynch.
De que forma você planeja fortalecer financeiramente seu projeto ao longo dos próximos três anos?
We will continue to build distribution partnerships, and may take on additional funding. We will continue to listen closely to our customers and improve our product. We have leveraged our core, patent-pending technology to create a related product for the outdoor market in the U.S. and other first-world countries. This product, a camping stove, will help us generate near-term revenue as we launch our much larger programs in the developing world.
Desafios
Quais desafios/obstáculos na área da saúde e bem estar seu projeto busca solucionar?
Por favor, selecione até três opções, em ordem de importância (a mais importante deve ser indicada como 1 e a menos como 3)
Primário
Mudança de comportamento em saúde
SEGUNDO
Acesso limitado a ferramentas ou recursos de prevenção
TERCEIRO
Ausência de seguros / opções financeiras para assistência médica
Por favor, descreva como a sua inovação aborda especificamente os obstáculos listados acima.
In the past, one challenge for improved cookstove providers has been adoption of their products. The BioLite HomeStove can overcome this challenge, and help consumers adopt a more healthy means of cooking, because of the additional incentive of electricity generation. The stove has also been carefully designed to fully meet the needs of consumers, and to be aesthetically desirable and highly valued. The HomeStove is a powerful preventative tool that reduces the risk of multiple serious diseases. The demand for our stove will help it spread throughout regions most affected by indoor air pollution. Because of its economic benefits (including fuel savings, electricity, reduced missed days at work, and potentially carbon credits), the stove also helps families save more for health care.
O que você está fazendo para ampliar o impacto de sua organização ou iniciativa?
Por favor, selecione até três estratégias abaixo, em ordem de importância (a mais importante deve ser indicada como 1 e a menos como 3).
primário
Alcance geográfico: Em vários Países
SEGUNDO
Influenciando outras organizações e instituições através da disseminação das melhores práticas
TERCEIRO
Alcance geográfico: Global
Por favor, descreva qual ou quais das atividades de seu crescimento estão em curso ou planejadas para o futuro imediato.
We are currently laying groundwork for our large-scale pilot programs in India and Africa. We will travel to Ghana, along with researchers from Columbia University, in the coming weeks to test the latest refinement of our prototypes. We continue to work with our partners in India to plan our large-scale pilot programs there. We are also evaluating new opportunities for testing and pilots in other locations. Our pilot programs are aimed at identifying and solving barriers to scaling. We are working with the World Health Organization as they revise indoor air quality standards to help raise those standards, given what we know is possible based on our own technology. We are meeting with the U.N. and the U.S. State Department next week to share the latest developments in the HomeStove.
Você colabora ou faz parcerias com algum dos abaixo? (marque todas que se aplicam)
Governo, ONGs / entidades sem fins lucrativos, Empresas, Academia / Universidades.
Se sim, como essas colaborações e parcerias vêm ajudando sua inovação a obter sucesso?
Collaborations have been essential for our success to date. Our collaborations with Indian retailers who have years of experience in the rural market have given us insight into Indian consumers, and will provide us with a strong means of distribution. Work with governments, including the Indian government and the U.S. State Department, is providing us with new opportunities for pilot programs. Our work with academic institutions like Columbia University and the University of California Berkeley has helped us quantify the benefits of our technology.
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 | 86 semanas atrás Adele Peters atualizou esta Competition Entry. |
| 87 semanas atrás Adele Peters atualizou esta Competition Entry. |
| 87 semanas atrás Adele Peters atualizou esta Competition Entry. |
| 87 semanas atrás Adele Peters atualizou esta Competition Entry. |
| 87 semanas atrás Adele Peters enviou esta ideia. |