Biomass Fuel and Cookstoves Group

2.7 billion people worldwide rely on traditional uses of solid biomass fuels to meet their daily energy needs, an increase in 38 million over last year (IEA 2014). Traditional means of cooking pose acute and chronic health risks, introduce time burdens on women and children, contribute to unsustainable harvest of forests, and in many cases, represent a significant cost burden on base-of-pyramid households. Without major policy changes, the number of households relying on solid fuels will continue to increase through 2050.

D-Lab is committed to addressing these issues through:
(*) Applied research to evaluate existing fuel and stove technology and design improved solutions
(*) Support for a community of social entrepreneurs who are supplying clean fuels and stoves to their communities
(*) Engagement in international agreements to increase the quality, availability, and sustained adoption of clean cooking technology

Some of the areas that the D-Lab Fuel & Stoves group are getting their hands dirty with these days: carbonization; briquette production; usage, efficiency, emissions, and air quality; and fuel standards.

The methods that the MIT D-Lab Fuel and Stove Team use to evaluate and improve biomass cooking products include a fuel and stove test facility at MIT known as the Burn Lab, a mobile testing lab for field testing, remote monitoring in collaboration with Sensen, carbonization testing, and DIY data acquisition.

D-Lab's approach to helping users climb the energy ladder is to focus on scaling solutions by engaging with field practitioners. D-Lab's fuel and stove research team helps technology developers overcome challenges and meet the needs of their customers. Empowering producers to reach scale can bring needed solutions to users in the near-term. From local producers of waste-derived alternative fuels, to multinational efficient stove producers, we seek to engage with a variety of stakeholders to pursue lasting solutions.