Energy Entrepreneurs

Energy Entrepreneurs — page 1 — YOU CAN BE AN ENTREPRENEUR Imagine never having to fill up a car with new businesses They sometimes have an innovative or original idea then turn that idea into a business that supplies those goods or services Start-ups are brand-new businesses created by entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs Changing the World The world is changing at a fast pace For decades we have powered our world using oil But the world’s supply of oil won’t last forever At the same time burning oil is contributing to global warming Luckily new technologies and ways of producing energy are being introduced We can meet the challenges we face if we use our science and technology skills to think creatively solve problems and work together And that is just what many bright young entrepreneurs are doing Lightyear’s cofounders developed their skills by taking part in international competitions gas ever again That’s the goal of Lightyear a Dutch car company that launched plans for a solar-powered car in June 2017 Solar panels on each car’s roof charge its batteries using energy from the Sun This means that the car does not need to be plugged into an electric outlet to charge up It uses completely renewable energy This groundbreaking car is a great example of how young entrepreneurs are using science to build technologies that can change the world What Are Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups An entrepreneur is someone who plans starts and runs a business that provides goods or services Entrepreneurs are people who take risks to develop new products and start 4

Energy Entrepreneurs — page 2 — INSPIRING STORIES Early Thinkers In the late 1890s about one-third of the vehicles on the road in the United States were electric cars Steam automobiles were the most popular Gas-powered engines ranked third In 1903 Oliver Fritchle began making electric storage batteries and also repaired and built electric cars He established the Fritchle Automobile Battery Company in 1908 which built about 198 vehicles per year Fritchle’s cars had a system that recharged the battery when a car coasted The cars were efficient but they were also expensive The Ford Model T which had a gas engine and was less expensive soon became more popular than the electric car Fritchle ahead of his time had to close his plant in 1916 Once gas prices went down cars with gasoline engines became more popular Entrepreneurs of the Future In Fritchle’s time the car was a new invention and innovations came at a fast pace Even today new technologies continue to bring changes to our world Young people just like you could be tomorrow’s entrepreneurs Who knows perhaps you and your friends will create start-ups that lead to a sustainable future The Lightyear solar car is designed to be very aerodynamic which helps it use less energy to move Many of today’s successful entrepreneurs studied science and technology 5

Energy Entrepreneurs — page 3 — ECO-FRIENDLY COOKING FUEL About three billion people around the world At first he hired a small team to collect biodegradable waste from people’s homes Biodegradable waste is plant and food waste that can easily break down It was ground up compressed and formed into briquettes or fuel logs In 2013 Nzeyimana founded Habona Ltd By 2015 his start-up was producing 22 tons 20 metric tonnes of briquettes each month These were sold to local schools homes and businesses A Dutch not-for-profit group called SNV provided mentorship under its Opportunities for Youth Program He received a Mandela Washington Fellowship to help develop his leadership skills By 2017 the start-up had 30 full-time workers and 50 part-time workers In India some people form cow manure into patties and dry them in the sunshine before burning them as fuel This practice pollutes the air still cook on an open fire The cooking fires make houses smoky and can cause the people who live in them to become sick In addition the fires give off carbon dioxide and methane These gases called emissions contribute to global warming Around the world young entrepreneurs are forming start-ups that provide alternatives to regular cooking fires Many are turning local waste materials into eco-friendly cooking fuels From Garbage to Cooking Fuel In 2011 Jean Bosco Nzeyimana was a business student in Rwanda when he began researching how to turn waste into fuel 6

Energy Entrepreneurs — page 4 — Fuel from Manure Established in 2013 SustainEarth makes cooking fuel from cow manure Founders Piyush Sohani Koushik Yanamandram and Shankar Ramakrishnan got the idea when they visited rural parts of India where dried cow manure is used as cooking fuel However manure that is simply dried gives off dangerous gases and pollutes the air The engineering students had a better idea They raised 2,793 to develop Gau Gas units These digesters safely make cooking gas from cow waste In 2016 the business was one of five Indian start-ups to take part in a boot camp for social enterprises in Berlin Germany The experience helped the partners write a business plan and start to develop business relationships with people who could help them succeed in the future INSPIRING STORIES Boot Camp Helps Start-Up A program run by the U S Department of State hosts start-up boot camps each year A 2016 boot camp helped the start-up HiGi Energy bring its products to people in countries such as Vietnam and Switzerland The company converts invasive plants called water hyacinths into smoke-free cooking fuel Invasive plants are those that are not native to an area and usually threaten the plant or animal life already living there By burning the water hyacinths as fuel the company is solving two problems Water hyacinths are native to South America but they have spread around the world Water hyacinths grow faster than farmers can pull them up HiGi’s cooking briquettes turn them into a useful clean fuel 7

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