A group of students from Mapua Institute of Technology developed ‘Rocketstove’, a wood-fired stove that generates electricity and has a water distillation system and charging station.
Rocketstove topped the 2015 Sikat Design Challenge, an inter-university competition focused on renewable energy solutions for rural communities, an initiative of Sikat Solar Challenge Foundation Inc.
The competition encouraged students to offer proposals and potential solutions to provide communities with reliable renewable energy.
Sikat Solar Challenge Foundation attracted these and other solutions from 65 talented students from 12 universities and colleges, after it launched late last year the five-month competition.
Dubbed ‘2015 Sikat Design Challenge’, the Sikat Solar Challenge dared the students to offer the best renewable energy idea or project for practical use in rural areas.
Mapua’s winning concept ‘Rocketstove’ also functions as a thermoelectric generator, water distillation system and charging station.
The stove is ideal in remote places with no access to electricity and water. Moreover, it comes handy during emergencies and disaster situations, such as typhoons, when water and power services are disrupted.
Mapua tried the Rocketstove for a community of Dumagats in Norzagaray, Bulacan, a remote area that is part of the Sierra Madre mountain range.
Sikat Solar Challenge chairman Federico Lopez was impressed by the proposals from the students.
“It’s very heartening to see all the innovative ideas being presented here. From solar power solutions to scalable hydro plants, all these ideas prove that innovation and creativity are alive and well in our youth,” Lopez said.
“It’s this spirit of curiosity and creativity that allowed you to take existing clean, low-carbon power generation technologies and explore new and practical ways to apply them for the benefit of more Filipinos who reside in areas that are still wanting of the basics in life,” Lopez said.
Lopez, who is also chairman and chief executive of First Philippine Holdings, First Gen Corp. and Energy Development Corp., also explained why the Lopez Group of companies actively supported SSCFI and the competition.
“We at the First Philippine Holdings [or FPH] Group are proud to support the Sikat Design Challenge. Together with our own power generation subsidiaries, First Gen Corp. and Energy Development Corp., we share in the belief of harnessing the power of clean and renewable energy to uplift the lives of the Filipino people. We certainly look forward to seeing the seeds we’re sowing today bear fruit,” Lopez said.
Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University earned runner-up honors with their entries dubbed ‘Tanglaw’ and ‘Project FLOWe+’, respectively.
Mapua won a P200,000 cash prize, while the two runner-ups each received a cash prize of P150,000.
DLSU’s ‘Project FLOWe+’ is a scalable micro-hydroelectric power plant integrated into so-called “aquaponics”, a system that combines aquaculture and hydroponics (growing crops not in soil but in water).
Under DLSU’s proposed solution, water assumes several functions. It flows to a micro-hydroelectric power plant and then to an aquaculture farm. Water and effluents from the aquaculture farm will then provide nutrition to the aquaponics farm.
ADMU’s ‘Tanglaw’ aims to give a livelihood support and lighting solution to communities through a barter system. For the residents to have lights in their homes, they will collect forest waste, like leaves, tree pruning and coconut husks, which they turn over to the cooperatives. In turn, the cooperatives will produce the briquettes for sale in the markets.
Money earned from this will be used to buy materials for the pico hydroelectric generator. The cooperatives will also set up the pico generators using recycled parts.
Sikat Solar Challenge launched the competition—the first of a regular annual tilt—as a part of its advocacy to promote the development and use of clean and renewable energy sources.
The foundation is the same group that organized support for the country’s solar-powered racing car entries in the biennial World Solar Challenge in Australia. The SSCFI entries were Sinag, Sikat 1 and Sikat 2.
First Gen, along with subsidiary EDC and Lopez Group parent company First Philippine Holdings, supports the 2015 Sikat Design Challenge.
First Gen, one of the country’s biggest power producers, maintains a balanced portfolio of power plants, including those running on renewable energy sources, such as hydro, geothermal, wind and solar mainly through EDC. All three are Lopez Group companies.
As part of the five-month competition, participating students tested their respective solutions in poor rural areas not served by the main power grids of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
DLSU tested Project FLOWe+ in Sitio Apia, a hamlet up in the mountains of Antipolo, Rizal, inhabited by 300 poor families.
“SSCFI launched the competition as it focuses its attention on how RE solutions can uplift lives in rural communities, especially those living without electricity,” said Henry Co, Sikat Solar Challenge vice president.
Participants came from 12 schools, seven of them from Luzon. Aside from the three winners, the Luzon entries were from Batangas State University, Bulacan State University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas.
The five other participating schools are from the Visayas. These are Foundation University, Negros Oriental State University, Silliman University, Saint Paul University and University of San Carlos. Aside from the grand prize winner and two runners-up, three others made it to the finals. These are BulSU, Siliman University and UST.
On top of the prize money, the grand prize winner also earns a trip to EDC’s hybrid solar and wind farm in Ilocos Norte. Located in the town of Burgos, EDC’s wind farm is the largest in the country with a 150-megawatt installed capacity.
“The three top entries will likewise have the opportunity to further develop their product or service and conduct pilot testing as appropriate,” said Aloysius L. Santos, executive director of SSCFI and First Gen vice president. “Depending on resources needed, the SSCFI may provide additional support or guidance for the winning teams.”