Bottom Up Approaches to Global Challenges Finding simple solutions at a grassroots level is essential for giving people in rural areas access to energy and electricity. Will innovation make it possible to combine sustainable development and energy for all?

1. Rural Spark envisions, designs and implements the smart energy networks of tomorrow in Rural India

2. World
EuropeIndia
1,5
2,70,5
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

3. World
EuropeIndia
+77%
+16%
+3%
ENERGY DEMAND

4. ENERGY DEMAND PER CAPITA
1990 2010 2013
42 MJ / day
99 MJ / day
GDP GROWTH CAPITA
1990 2010 2013
100 %
145 %
POPULATION SIZE
1990 2010 2013
862 million
1.485 million

5. URBANIZATION

6. India
400.000.000 without access to electricity and clean cooking fuels
leapfrog top-down centralized energy grid

7. NETWORK STRATEGY

8. SMART GRID
distributed linking of supply and demand

9. real contextabstract vision

11. real contextabstract vision Design.
design a system, a network
that is actually being used

12. real contextabstract vision Design.
implementation
insight
design a system, a network
that is actually being used

13. * Rural Spark published an academic paper on this approach:
Tomico, O.; Winthagen, V.O.; & van Heist, M.M.G. (2012). ‘Designing for, with or within: 1st, 2nd and 3rd
person points of view on designing for systems’, NordiCHI ’12, October 14-17, 2012 Copenhagen, Denmark.
success is measured by observing whether the emerged
system will actually be used and realize the intended goal.*
real contextabstract vision Design.
implementation
insight

14. SHARING ENERGY
translating the first step of reaching the vision in concrete
tools to learn about social systems and user’s response

21. energy surpluses

22. energy surpluses

23. demand
surpluses
market
+ extra income + reliability + efficiency

25. 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
proof of concept proof of concept proof of concept proof of concept
‣ energy sharing between
local energy suppliers:
linking supply & demand
‣ income security
‣ unique market position
‣ product acceptance
‣ emergence of a system
‣ social impact
reliable and viable
system successfully
operational for over
a year
local capacity and
organization for large
market entry
sharing energy continuation organization building
through scaling
2nd source linking supply & demand
I. technical improvement
II. maintenance systems
III. facilitating partners
I. prepaid system (income security)
II. introduction of Share Cubes
I. local organization building
II. procedure building
cooperation with
other players
I. system design
II. first rapid prototype

26. FILM
HTTP://WWW.RURALSPARK.COM/BEINSPIRED

27. www.ruralspark.com

28. Current model (2013) Next model (early 2015)
social prototype
smart, self-explaining,
linking supply & demand
through partners
active recruitment
through resellers
promotion + local shops
facilitating partners
subscription
(like mobile subscription)
local maintenance network
monthly check-up
local maintenance network
mobile status-report
Product / Service
Reaching the customer
Customer relationship
Continuation

29. Over 2 million households
with access to clean, safe
and sustainable energy
before 2020
Saving over 300.000 tons
of CO2 before 2020
Return on investment of
500% before 2020
The world’s first and largest
implemented smart grid
2 billion people without
access to clean, safe and
sustainable energy
Enormous opportunity to
leapfrog the expensive
and resource intensive
grids constructed in most
of the developed world
Access to over 27.000
rural Indian villages in
cooperation with Basix
Group India
Rural Spark Energy Pvt.
Ltd. (Indian company)
with local embodiment:
prof. Paul Rutten, CEO
India
Successfully operational
since february 2012:
In 4 pilots, Local Energy
Suppliers renting tools,
provide energy to over 50
rural households
Continuation and
maintenance system in
place, perceived locally,
leveraging local existing
networks. Indian business
model is economically
viable
Manufacturing, facilitation
and maintenance partners
ready for scaling
Iteratively designed
system, fitting the actual
context, realizing smartly
distributed energy
networks, with surplussed
traded on an emerging
marked linking supply and
demand
400.000.000 people in
rural india primary
depending on kerosine
and firewood as an energy
source
Worldwide shift towards
smart energy networks
realization of a
REVOLUTION
in the way we use
energy
the
SOLUTION
is available
the market
DEMAND
is enormous & urging
the
CONCEPT
has proved itself
the
CONTINUATION
is ensured
all parters can
SCALE UP
today
our
ORGANIZATION
is ready
Worldwide focus on
decreasing carbon-based
energy