Globally, over 2 billion people still use non-renewable fuels and polluting technologies for cooking in 2024.
Soft Power developed, in collaboration with the Laboratory of Renewable Energy Science and Engineering of EPFL, an innovative cooking device that is fueled by hydrogen. It produces only water as the combustion product. For the fuel supply, Soft Power developed a turnkey solution for the production of hydrogen using only solar irradiation as the input energy and water as the feedstock. This turnkey solution also produces renewable oxygen as a by-product. The latter is used for medical or industrial applications.
Globally, indoor air pollution related to cooking causes approximately 4 million deaths annually. It is the 4th highest cause of death in developing countries in 2024.
Soft Power used its expertise in combustion and heat transfer technologies as well as simulation-based design for developing high performing cookstoves that are fueled with traditional fuels (biochar, pellets, wood, etc). These advanced cookstoves easy to manufacture and cost competitive, while showing high efficiency and not direct impact on human health.
More than 700 million people worldwide lack access to electricity in 2024, and security of supply is still a huge challenge.
Soft Power designed unique all-in-one portable solar stations. Their integrated tilting system allows an efficiency gain of more than 20% compared to commonly used systems. They are primarily designed for households seeking energy independence and adventurers seeking universal energy access. The reference solution is compact and lightweight. Its daily energy production is up to 3 kWh, while its output electrical power is up to 1 kW. The stations can be stacked for increasing output power.