Commercialization of new fuel system for household energy in Ethiopia-using ethanol from sugarcane residues and methanol from natural gas

The project that this paper discusses has as its objective to revolutionize the household energy economy of Africa and the Developing World by leading the way to alcohol fuels derived from currently wasted or under used resources, both biomass and hydrocarbon resources, for daily household use- for cooking, refrigeration, heating, lighting and electrical generation. A unique set of circumstances exists within Ethiopia that will allow Ethiopia to lead the way in this endeavor. Coming together for this project are Dometic AB, the world's leading alcohol stive and appliance manufacturer (until recently a part of Electrolux AB), Finchaa Sugar Factory, the ethanol manufacturer, Iacona Engineering, a furniture, appliance and metal goods manufacturer in Addis Ababa capable of making the Dometic stove and other appliances, the Government of Sweden, the Government of Ethiopia, its Rural Energy Development and Promotion Centre, and Winrock International, an experienced NGO Active in many parts of the world in clean energy development projects. The Shell Foundation Sustainable Energy Programme is a sponsor of this project and Shell Ethiopia is an important facilitator. The project has been entitled 'Project Gaia' after the Greek goddess of the earth. This paper will give an overview of Project Gaia in Ethiopia and will describe the Clean Cook stove, which will be the first in a series of appliances to be introduced powered by alcohol fuel. Detail is provided regarding the performance of the Clean Cook stove, its efficiency, operating characteristics and its attributes with regard to safety, durability and ease of operation. Likewise, attention is given to the characteristics of alcohol, fuels, their safety, cleanliness, convenience, economy and environmental benefits, and the potential for their production from undervalued or wasted biomass resources as well as natural gas, which most often remains unexploited because of the difficulty and costliness of bringing it to market: Ethiopia possesses a substantial natural gas resource that remains unused, despite Ethiopia's need for energy fuels. This paper illustrated the potential for monetizing Ethiopian natural gas in an alcohol-fuelled appliance market.