E&ID:USES - The next generation of low-cost energy-efficient appliances and devices to benefit the bottom of the pyramid

近年来，通过微型电网和其他方法向发展中国家的低收入家庭和社区提供能源的活动显著增加。不幸的是，除了LED照明和手机充电之外，关于能源获取如何改善发展中国家人民生活的实际探索有限。虽然研究表明，由于获得照明的机会增加，人们的生活有所改善，但很少有研究证明，由于获得能源，人们的生活得到了更广泛的改善。事实上，这些国家对可再生能源的采用率一直很低。考虑到几项研究发现，能源可以代表金字塔底层最大的市场之一(我们全球社会中最贫穷的家庭)，这种低采用率尤其令人惊讶。尽管致力于能源获取问题的组织正在努力应对清洁能源分配的艰难商业模式，但我们认为，解决方案的关键部分在其他地方；而且它几乎没有受到关注。我们认为，可再生能源使用率低的主要原因是，提供给发展中国家穷人或为穷人制造的低能源、低成本产品很少。能源本身不会改变人们的生活；相反，改变生活的是人们将能源用于什么：家用电器、工作场所机器、临床/医疗设备等。不幸的是，人们对全球穷人所代表的许多细分市场以及哪些类型的动力电器和产品可能改变他们的生活质量(理想情况下，他们的经济状况)的了解非常有限。例如，目前，发展中国家超过三分之二的新生儿是在家里出生的，因为贫穷的离网社区负担不起用昂贵的医疗设备建造诊所，而这些医疗设备也需要电力。新的低成本、低能耗的医疗设备(例如太阳能婴儿保育箱)将使以极低的成本(低至当前成本的10%)建造诊所成为可能。这将允许妇女在诊所而不是在家里分娩，这些诊所的医疗设备将在分娩紧急情况下导致更快和更有效的干预。由于这些设备可以由太阳能供电，它们也将显著减少对不可再生能源的需求。一些早期研究表明，低功率孵化器可能是合适的，但这个项目作为一个整体，是关于建立研究，真正了解国际收支市场的详细需求，然后不断以创新设计回应这些需求。我们坚信，如果新一代需求驱动、负担得起的低能耗产品问世，对可再生能源的需求--以及获得清洁能源的影响--将显著增加。我们项目的一个核心组成部分是在肯尼亚和印度等国创建创新中心。这些中心与主要的私营和公共部门合作伙伴合作，旨在成为卓越的中心，能够：(A)对国际收支平衡表细分市场、需求和需求进行持续的市场研究；(B)(与供应链合作伙伴合作)生产低成本、高能效的家用电器；(C)向对国际收支平衡表市场洞察感兴趣的公共、私营和学术机构提供技术专长。私营部门的公司传统上不会投资于为国际收支平衡表打造此类产品所需的研发，因为这些市场非常不可预测，而且利润率可能很低。因此，发展中国家几乎所有的私营部门投资都是针对新兴的中产阶级，而不是穷人。我们相信，我们将从这个项目中产生的市场洞察力将为私营部门公司提供目前尚不存在的市场情报。

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in activity to provide energy to low-income households and communities in developing countries, through micro-grids and other methods. Unfortunately, beyond LED lighting and mobile phone charging, there has been limited practical exploration of how access to energy can improve the lives of people in developing countries. While studies have shown some improvement in people's lives as a result of this increase in access to lighting, there have been few studies evidencing broader improvement due to energy access. Indeed, adoption of renewable energy has been very low in these countries. This low adoption is especially surprising in light of several studies, which have found that energy can represent one of the largest markets within the Bottom of the Pyramid (the poorest households in our global society). Even as organizations working on the energy access issue wrestle with struggling business models for clean energy distribution, we believe a critical portion of the solution lies elsewhere; and it is receiving scant attention. We believe the primary reason for the low adoption of renewable energy is that there are very few low-energy low-cost products available to-or made for-the poor in developing countries. Energy itself doesn't change people's lives; rather, it is what people use the energy for that does change lives: household appliances, workplace machines, clinical/medical devices, etc. Unfortunately, there is very limited understanding of the many market segments represented by the global poor, and of what types of powered appliances and products might change the quality of their lives (and, ideally, their economic condition). For example currently, more than two-thirds of births in developing countries occur at home, because poor off-grid communities cannot afford to build clinics with expensive medical devices which also require electricity. New low-cost, low-energy medical devices (e.g., solar-powered infant incubators) would make it possible to build clinics at a dramatically lower cost (as low as 10% of current costs). This would allow women to give birth at clinics instead of homes, and the medical devices in these clinics would lead to faster and more effective intervention during birth emergencies. Since these devices could be solar-powered, they would also significantly reduce the need for non-renewable energy.The low power incubator is something some early research suggests may be appropriate, but this project as a whole is about setting up research to really understand the detailed needs of the BoP market, and then responding to them with innovative design on an ongoing basis. We strongly believe that demand for renewable energy-and the impact of clean energy access-will significantly increase if a new generation of demand-driven, affordable, low-power products were available. A core component of our project is the creation of Innovation Hubs in countries like Kenya and India. Working with key private and public sector partners, these hubs are intended to be centers-of-excellence which can:(a) conduct ongoing market research on BoP segments, demands and needs(b) produce low-cost, energy-efficient appliances (in collaboration with supply chain partners)(c) lend technical expertise to public, private and academic institutions interested in BoP market insights. Private-sector companies do not traditionally invest in the R&D required to build such products for the BoP, because those markets are highly unpredictable, and because profit margins can be low. As a result, virtually all private sector investments in developing countries are targeting the emerging middle class, rather than the poor. We believe that the market insights we will generate from this project will give private sector companies market intelligence that currently does not exist.