Flatpack, solar-powered biofuel stove for Africa could save lives

Lesotho-based African Clean Energy has developed a biofuel stove to help combat the global problem of indoor cook-smoke, which is estimated to kill 4 million people a year.

There are three billion people cooking on open fires worldwide or using dirty and dangerous fuel, and the health and environmental repercussions of this are huge. Lesotho-based African Clean Energy has now developed a simple cooking product to help combat the global problem of indoor cook-smoke, which is estimated to kill 4 million people a year.

The ACE 1 is a portable stove which burns biomass cleanly, reducing fuel usage, dangerous emissions and smoke. It uses a variety of sustainable and found fuels including sticks, twigs and cowdung as well as agricultural waste. It is solar powered and includes DC and USB ports meaning the stove is an additional source of power. The product itself is light, portable and attractive and can be sent as a flat-pack, reducing logistical costs. African Clean Energy has so far distributed the ACE 1 primarily in southern Africa but, having noticed massive potential crossover, is now expanding to make the ACE 1 available worldwide. After a successful campaign on OnePlanetCrowd.nl, African Clean Energy is currently making the stove available globally through a web-shop and encouraging enquiries from potential distributors.

Watch the video below for a more in depth explanation of the ACE 1 and its benefits:

We’ve already seen ideas such as the BioLite stove use biofuel to make cooking more environmentally-friendly, and now African Clean Energy is using the technology to improve health and safety in Africa and beyond. Are there other ways that clean fuels can be introduced into the home?