Awaiting Public Project Summary

*Issue – Worldwide 1.2bn people lack access to the electricity grid. With IUK support, BuffaloGrid (BG) has developed a solar powered Hub providing PAYG electricity, off grid mobile phone charging and wireless internet in developing regions. BG hubs currently contains Li-ion cells spot welded together in caddies. However, battery packs connecting multiple cells without a Battery Monitoring System have very restrictive export/import requirements. Cell welding is also an expensive process, prevents reuse of battery packs extracted from EoL BuffaloGrid Hubs in other devices and prevents use of upcycled Li-ion batteries. *Solution - In this VOLT feasibility project , BuffaloGrid will investigate the feasibility of developing a battery pack that uses compression to hold Li-ion cells together and develop a prototype. *Challenges for BuffaloGrid - Due to the harsh operating environment of BuffaloGrid Hubs, developing a Caddy that uses compression is challenging.

*Challenges - 1.2bn offgrid people lack access to electricity. BuffaloGrid (BG) has developed a solar powered Hub providing PAYG offgrid mobile phone charging and wireless internet. BG has identified an opportunity to provide additional services facilitated by the electricity BG Hubs provide, but is restricted by limited resources, time and budget. *Project objectives - The POD project will allow early stage design using the double-diamond design process with support from immersive design subcontractor Special Projects. This will develop market needs understanding, develop a concept portfolio and allow strategic assessment, to develop compelling services that align with BG's strategic aims. *Project impact - POD will allow a different business and design approach, improved innovation process, increased understanding and focus on user/ stakeholder needs to increase service adoption. *Innovation - A more effective and efficient innovation culture within BG by considering a broad range of potential solutions through fast simulation, testing and supporting “good failures”. Special Projects will guide BG in new innovation approaches incl cohabitation to define opportunities, develop and test potential solutions.

1.2bn people lack access to electricity, essential for development, education and healthcare. Despite plentiful sunlight, solar generates 0.2% of electricity in off-grid regions. Smartphones are an essential tool for development, however 650m off-grid mobile users have restricted access to charging. BuffaloGrid (BG) has developed a solar powered Hub providing PAYG off-grid phone charging and internet access, facilitating communication, education, healthcare and banking services. This project will allow BG to develop local partnerships for operations/logistics and connect with influential trust networks. It will also allow BG to collaborate to build an ecosystem of services and refine its hardware to radically increase competitiveness.

The issue: Globally 1.2bn people have no access to electricity, concentrated mostly in India (400m) and Africa (550m).. UN identifies access to mobile communication as the biggest contributor to economic growth in developing countries as they allow access to education, markets, security and banking. However, benefits of mobile phones to off-grid communities are undermined by the difficulty in accessing electricity for charging. Globally an estimated 650 million off-grid mobile phones users have severely limited access to reliable charging. Charging stations are few in number, especially in sparsely populated rural areas. People must travel up to 20km to charge their phones and 1 charge costs 1/2 a day’s wages. Opportunity: India has 280m off-grid mobile phone subscribers, who spend £2.9bn annually on phone charging. Africa has 253m, who spend £3.1bn annually on phone charging. The solution: Project will prototype BuffaloGrid, a robust low cost solar powered unit for mobile phone charging & wireless internet access in off-grid communities. Buffalo will incorporate a simple, secure payment system, via text message and an innovative ‘missed call’ method to pay for charge