Solar powered heat engine to power tools including electricity generator for rural villages.

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Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK

£334,200

March 1, 2023

Dec. 31, 2023

**Problem**: Rural smallholders in developing countries need an energy source or motor which has a low-cost purchase price and is simple to maintain with village resources. This is vital in villages that have no mains electricity -- SDG7\. Photovoltaic electricity is an option for such provision, but cannot be maintained in a village and is liable to catastrophic failure if damaged. PV is only 15% efficient

Only 58% \[https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS?locations=UG\] of people in Uganda are not connected to the network.

**Vision:** The full project will have a multi-disciplinary team to design innovative solar energy capture to n run a small electrical generator, 1Kw, or other equipment. This will have a very low carbon footprint from manufacture to daily use and be sustainable.

**Principal Output of** this feasibility study will be a framework for a project to produce a minimum viable product that can provide torque to generate electricity.

This will involve next generation solar power.

Attention will be given to designs that are low cost, easy to manufacture, require simple production equipment and can be adapted for production in countries with limited engineering manufacturing capability.

The use of a modular design will be investigated to enable the use simple standardised components. This will reduce the manufacturing costs and allow flexibility for the production of different

Technical production, business profitability, supply chain management for both inputs and outputs, marketing and sales will be examined.