Public Funding for Gamos Limited

BURN is the largest vertically integrated modern cookstove company in the world, providing world class R&D, manufacturing, and carbon offset projects from its HQ in Kenya. BURN produces the world's most fuel-efficient biomass cookstoves, has sold over 1.4 million units to date and has operations or distribution in over 15 African countries. Gamos and BURN were the recipients of Energy Catalyst Round 7 funding for development and pilot distribution of innovative, affordable electric pressure cookers (EPCs) in Kenya. The project validated the need and availability of a market for EPCs with a financing program. Low-income households in urban and peri-urban communities in Kenya were part of the project, and reported positive outcomes such as a reduction in cooking costs, reduced indoor pollution, and time savings from using the EPC. The success of this pilot necessitated Gamos and BURN to develop a more versatile electric stove, to complete BURN's suite of electric stoves. Gamos is partnering with BURN Manufacturing to develop, test, and commercially roll-out BURN's innovative electric cookstoves in four target markets in Africa, with the goal of building a commercially viable distribution model. Once prototypes are manufactured and tested in-house, a distribution pilot will be launched for the roll-out of the electric cooking line to low-income households in urban and peri-urban communities. Through the distribution pilot, we will establish a proof of concept for a financing program. BURN's electric stoves are designed for grid-connected low- and middle-income urban and peri-urban households in sub-Saharan Africa. The stoves leverage high urban electricity penetration, ongoing charcoal usage, and low lifeline electricity tariffs in the four target markets. The average urban electricity access rate in the target markets is 84%, and this is expected to increase to 97% by 2030\. Electricity in these markets is available at affordable rates with an average lifeline tariff of $0.06 per kWh. Despite a high rate of on-grid connectivity and low tariffs, 51% of urban households in our target markets continue to cook with charcoal, presenting a significant market opportunity. The use of electric stoves in cooking presents advantages over other fuels. It is 3-10x cheaper to cook using electricity than other fuels, saving consumers up to USD 1,700 over 7 years of use. Electric stoves also reduce cooking time by over 50% and eliminate indoor air pollution in comparison to other cooking stoves/fuels.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

The project proposes examining in greater detail the feasibility of using solar electric cooking (eCook) in Africa. The proposition is that if the current downward trends in solar photovoltaic technology costs and in energy storage costs (specifically lithium iron phosphate batteries) continue, then by 2020 a system sized for cooking would have a lifetime monthly cost comparable to the monthly spend on biomass (mainly charcoal) made by a sizeable proportion of biomass users. Biomass based cooking is a root cause of acute respiratory infections which leads to millions of deaths per year. It is also a contributor to climate change emissions, and a cause of local deforestation with wider impacts. Increases in urban populations are leading to increases in charcoal prices; globally some 300 million households currently spend more than $10 a month on biomass fuel. Sustainable Development Goal 7 calls for 'access to affordable, reliable, sustainable modern energy for all' by 2030. The strategic use of solar photovoltaics and batteries for cooking would be a gateway enabling households to convert their current biomass expenditure into decentralised electrical infrastructure.