Impact/Purpose:

Our objective is to provide clean cooking, heating, and electricity to the world’s poorest 2.5 billion people at a price they can afford. During Phase 2 of the EPA P3 grant award, we are scaling up production of a novel solar device we developed to meet this need, the SolSource 3-in-1.

Description:

We expect this project to have the following impacts on people, prosperity, and the planet:

People: Decreased indoor air pollution exposures, decreased pathogen transmission, decreased injuries and miscarriages during fuel collection along mountain slopes, increased gender equality, decreased rape.

Prosperity: Decreased expenses in purchasing chemical fertilizers, increased opportunities for women to attend school and earn cash income, increased opportunities for local income generation through manufacture and sale of the SolSource 3-in-1.

Planet: Decreased greenhouse gas and black carbon emissions, increased the use of natural fertilizers in place of chemical fertilizers, decreased deforestation.

Record Details:

Record Type:PROJECT( ABSTRACT )

Start Date:08/15/2010

Completion Date:08/14/2012

Record ID: 249221

Show Additional Record Data

Related Organizations:

Role :OWNER

Organization Name :HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Mailing Address :1350 Massachusetts Ave Rm 458

Citation :Cambridge

State :MA

Zip Code :2138



Role :OWNER

Organization Name :TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

Citation :Beijing, 100084, P. R. CHINA



Role :OWNER

Organization Name :QINGHAI NORMAL UNIVERSITY

Mailing Address :36 wusixi Street

Citation :Xining 810008 Qinghaii, P.R.C



Role :OWNER

Organization Name :MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Mailing Address :77 Massachusetts Ave

Citation :Cambridge

State :MA

Zip Code :2139

Project Information:

Approach :

During phase 1 we focused on working with rural communities in the Himalayas to iteratively design a low-cost, portable solar energy platform for cooking, heating, and electricity generation that both achieves high mechanical performance and satisfies key human factors.

During Phase 2, we will first evaluate the real impacts of this intervention on health, the environment, local educational and economic opportunity, and gender equality in rural nomadic and agricultural communities in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces, China. Once we have incorporated information from this assessment into the design of the device, we will unleash the local social entrepreneurs we have been working with to produce this device on a large scale. We have already developed an award winning business plan to inform the launch and scaling of this product.

Cost :$75,000.00

Research Component :Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development

Approach :

During phase 1 we focused on working with rural communities in the Himalayas to iteratively design a low-cost, portable solar energy platform for cooking, heating, and electricity generation that both achieves high mechanical performance and satisfies key human factors.

During Phase 2, we will first evaluate the real impacts of this intervention on health, the environment, local educational and economic opportunity, and gender equality in rural nomadic and agricultural communities in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces, China. Once we have incorporated information from this assessment into the design of the device, we will unleash the local social entrepreneurs we have been working with to produce this device on a large scale. We have already developed an award winning business plan to inform the launch and scaling of this product.

Cost :$75,000.00

Research Component :P3 Challenge Area - Materials & Chemistry

Approach :

During phase 1 we focused on working with rural communities in the Himalayas to iteratively design a low-cost, portable solar energy platform for cooking, heating, and electricity generation that both achieves high mechanical performance and satisfies key human factors.

During Phase 2, we will first evaluate the real impacts of this intervention on health, the environment, local educational and economic opportunity, and gender equality in rural nomadic and agricultural communities in Qinghai and Gansu Provinces, China. Once we have incorporated information from this assessment into the design of the device, we will unleash the local social entrepreneurs we have been working with to produce this device on a large scale. We have already developed an award winning business plan to inform the launch and scaling of this product.

Cost :$75,000.00

Research Component :P3 Challenge Area - Energy

Project IDs:

ID Code :SU834746

Project type :EPA Grant