Our Model to spread Lytefire
Lytefire is a social and impact company, meaning that we are also a social and environmental research and innovation laboratory that finds solutions to real problems in the field. But unlike labs, we are able to test them economically,react quickly to client feedback and correct in order to demonstrate that change is possible. This is how we are able to progressively create the market for Lytefire’s solar-thermal products.
Real solutions must be scalable.
The environmental and social problems are severe and getting worse. Real solutions must be scalable.
How to scale is the heart of the problem. The first step for us has been developing the expertise and algorithms for deep optimization of solar thermal technology for the actual context people are living in, mostly in East Africa.
In some locations labour costs are high and lots of optimization is needed to reduce operating costs. In other places labour costs are low and skills and infrastructure are less developed; therefore optimization in these contexts means making technology that is much less automated and expensive, easy to deliver and install and can be maintained locally, and providing energy scales and temperatures that produce real value for a local business and entrepreneurs.
Return on one’s effort and investment is just as important in low-income areas as in high-income areas, and since prices are also low for products, there must be sufficient scale of production. All of our analysis starts and ends with Return on Investment for the client or end-user. Check the payback calculator and if you can repay for your investment and start saving money, then you should urgently consider Lytefire.
Less-automation does not mean a technology must be less efficient. An artisan baker in Kenya must bake as many goods as an artisan baker in France to stay in business. There is no real limit to the solar technology that can be made based on manual tracking and our tech is (versatile). However, designing such solutions requires the same engineering methods and code as we can use for high-precision development for industrial clients.
After optimizing Lytefire technology using state-of-the art numerical methods, CAD simulation and then testing it in real conditions in actual small business context (a step we have completed), the next step is to develop automation for the markets in need of it (SME’s) and continue our work with as many humanitarian organizations as possible to equip the most vulnerable. It is our belief that solving global problems requires global (and fast) cooperation.
In our opinion, international NGO’s have a key role to introduce Lytefire among vulnerable populations. They can support youth and women’s cooperative start their solar bakery business and in that sense our cooperation with the humanitarian sector is essential. Everywhere it is possible, local industrial manufacturers can start to produce and commercialize with a license. To them we bring our good reputation and marketing expertise, as well as a global users community that will spread the word. Licensees can allows us to spread horizontally in good cooperation spirit with local people who know their local markets better than we’ll ever do (SME’s, schools, NGO’s in their country, local associations). Once this is happening, Lytefire is supporting the country’s sovereignty, people stop burning trees and charcoal, they make money, they save money and this protect their environment.
Breaking energy poverty cycle with NGO’s
Clean energy access can support stability.
In countries where incomes are low, fuel is expensive and electricity grids are missing or unstable. Energy poverty creates a vicious cycle of deforestation, pollution, ill-health and low-income outcomes.
In sunny countries, there are so many people with great ideas and skills that are prevented from thriving because of poverty. Alleviating this burden from them is the core motivation of the founders but no one individual can alleviate poverty - it’s far too complex and widespread. However, when we combine each of our individual efforts, we can make a difference. By combining simple and robust Lytefire’s with educational training, together with our humanitarian clients and partners, we can reach the most vulnerable and break the poverty circle to create more empowerment.
Energy is the foundation of human activity, and by creating a technology that is cost-effective, adds value to products, outputs at commercial scales, and can be maintained by end-users or local artisans — using free and clean solar energy — it’s possible to increase incomes and well-being while reversing deforestation and reinforcing local resilience to economic and environmental disruptions.
Productive use of clean energy
Direct solar economy with Artisans, SMEs and Communities
Our approach is to complete the work achieved by the solar cookers movement that existed since the ‘70. Solar cookers are great, most of them have free plans online, and solar energy is free and abundant for households to cook. Millions of solar cookers are installed. But they are sometimes limited because they are small and this is where Lytefire comes.
We have first mostly focused on bread making but we have also developed other applications related to food transformation. Farmers are the backbone of a country and a Lytefire oven installed in the village is preventing cutting trees all around. Small schools canteens need to cook volumes daily and it can be done with big pots on a Lytefire. Artisans can drastically reduce the energy bill by using it as well and produce between 50kg and 110kg of bread per day depending on their recipe. Supporting local and circular economy as well as people autonomy and environment is key.
| Device | Dish | Quantity | Baking- Roasting- Cooking-Time | Pre-Heating Time | Daily production |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRO Oven | Bread | 10 kg | 1 hour | 1 hour | 30-45 kg max depending on recipe |
| Buns | 50 buns | 30 min | 1 hour | 500 buns | |
| PRO Roaster | Peanuts | 16 kg | 3 hours | 1 hour | 16kg or more |
| PRO Cooker | Rice | 10 kg | 1 hour 5 min | None | Case specific |
| Water sterilization | 15 liters | 30 min to boil | None | Case specific |
* Maximum production volume depending on bread recipe
Crisis and disasters of all kinds are happening more and more, and, even with tons of connectivity, mega renewable plans, and so on, we can see that the vulnerable populations in Africa and elsewhere still do not have a massive access to clean reliable energy. We want to change this.