Millions of people in the developing world depend on car batteries for electricity, lighting, charging cell phones, and powering computers. Yet not a single study has explored how car batteries are used there, despite the growing market of renewable and distributed generation technologies such as solar, micro wind, micro hydro, and more.
Cooking can be both dangerous and expensive for many in the developing world, as existing pots costing too much to operate and are made of materials that can cause tremendous environmental degradation.
Inefficient use of conventional energy supplies in the developing world, including car batteries, significantly reduces access to energy for millions of families.
Heating water for basic daily use in the developing world is expensive and has a degrading environmental impact.
University campuses waste energy, costing millions of dollars and creating large carbon footprints.
Solar energy technology is very expensive, limiting the number of people and places that can benefit from its incredible potential.