The BioLite HomeStove – the world’s only ultra-clean, electricity generating, biomass cookstove.

BioLite aims to scale the HomeStove, an ultra-clean, electricity generating biomass stove, to address the massive climate and economic cost of open fire cooking.

Long Description

Three billion people still cook over smoky open fires, emitting more black carbon—the second-greatest contributor to climate change—than all of the world’s cars and trucks combined. 1.2 billion people who rely on open-fire cooking also lack electricity. They are forced to use dirty, expensive kerosene lamps for lighting, and are unable to charge mobile phones. To address these climate and economic costs, BioLite developed the HomeStove, an ultra-clean, electricity generating biomass cookstove. The HomeStove reduces toxic smoke emissions by 90% and fuel consumption by 50% compared to traditional open fire cooking. The HomeStove also co-generates electricity from the flame, enabling users to charge mobile phones and lights. The HomeStove’s modern and durable design is aspirational to consumers, and consistent with locally available solid biomass fuels (e.g., wood, cow dung, or crop waste) and local cooking practices.

Through this project, BioLite proposes to scale distribution of the HomeStove over the next two years to low-income, energy-poor households in Kenya and Uganda. We aim to retail a total of 77,000 HomeStoves by 2018 through our credit-enabled distribution channels. At the projected scale of 77,000 units sold, we expect the HomeStove will have the following environmental and economic impacts:

• 385,000 people will benefit from cleaner air and enhanced electricity access
• 1,078,000 tons of CO2e (via CO2 and black carbon) will be averted over the product life
• 152 kW of electricity will be generated
• $271 per household, or $20,897,000 in total, will be saved through reduced cooking and lighting fuel expenditure