Ecosafi announced the release of a cookstove this month that may be the cleanest, most efficient, and highest performing biomass stove available.
“We think this is a watershed day for the whole clean cookstove world,” Kevin Starr, CEO of Mulago Foundation said of the announcement.
The BetterStove launched at the IEA Summit for Clean Cooking in Africa, but the stove was just one of the milestones the company achieved in the past month.
Prior to the cookstove launch, EcoSafi and Gold Standard announced the issue of the first carbon credits in Africa under Gold Standard’s Metered and Measured Energy Cooking Devices (MECD) methodology. That announcement included the news that EcoSafi already has an offer for the first batch of premium credits, which sold for (USD) $30 each. The price is almost 10 times higher than the usual market rate for cooking offsets, suggesting that high-quality credits can demand higher prices.
Not content with two, EcoSafi posted a third milestone this month when the company earned an ‘A’ rating from BeZero Carbon, the ratings agency for carbon projects of any type around the world. This is the first ‘A’ BeZero has issued to a cookstove project. For more on EcoSafi’s rating and BeZero, including their methodology for rating cookstoves, register for a free BeZero account (EcoSafi is listed as project GS11352).
“A stove that is designed top to bottom based on the customer’s feedback and needs. No smoke. No smell. Just better,” Jordyan Corcoran, EcoSafi’s co-founder and COO, said on LinkedIn. “This is the new standard for clean cooking in Africa. And I couldn’t be prouder.”
From the Solutions Library: Before BetterStove, EcoSafi distributed the Mimi Moto forced air gasifier
The stoves should begin shipping this summer and start to chip away at the alarming consequences of cooking smoke.
More than 2 billion people eat meals cooked over open fires or smoky stoves, and the practice is a leading contributor to global carbon emissions and deforestation. The emissions are also the leading cause of death and disease from household air pollution.
High performance, low emissions
Ecosafi betting on best-in-the-world performance, sleek design and a creative business model to clear the air in African kitchens.
The BetterStove meets the World Health Organization’s definition for a clean cookstove, achieving tier 4+ for PM2.5 and tier 5 for carbon monoxide emissions, making it comparable to electric and LPG stoves. It is also 95 percent cleaner than charcoal, potentially preventing up to 3.5 tons of carbon emissions per customer annually when measured by the strictest methodologies, according to a statement by EcoSafi.
Sensors with Internet connections are integrated into the stoves to measure emissions and verify the stove’s carbon impact.
A mixed business model
The company sells its stoves to homes and restaurants in Kenya and Uganda for a service fee of (USD) $5, plus an agreement to buy fuel from EcoSafi. That fuel subscription service provides customers with sustainable biomass pellets made from sugarcane waste. The pellets cost half the price of charcoal or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or natural gas). Rounding out the services, the stoves come with a lifetime guarantee.
On the other side of the business, EcoSafi sells its carbon credits. The Internet-connected stoves help prove their emissions claims, supporting the premium status of the credits.
Besides performance and low emissions, the new stove also looks good.
“Families deserve a clean, low-cost, reliable way to make dinner, one that won’t hurt their pocketbook or our planet. This stove cooks better than any biomass stove being made today, saving families time and money, while helping cool the planet,” EcoSafi’s CEO Tom Price said in a statement. “We are delighted to offer our customers a premium product that was designed with their feedback, to meet their needs and wants at every step.”
Stove demos and carbon credits
The BetterStove will begin shipping this summer.
Those interested in a demonstration of the stove can contact betterstove@ecosafi.com. And for information on buying EcoSafi’s premium carbon credits, contact carbon@ecosafi.com.
