Spitfire - European Thermodynamics Limited

Project: Spitfire

The Spitfire project aims to develop an affordable, low-emission biomass-pellet burning clean cookstove for institutional use in Sub-Saharan Africa. This cookstove will generate surplus electricity and improve access to clean energy for social institutions.

Spitfire will revolutionize access to clean energy for social institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa by delivering an affordable, low-emission, IoT-integrated biomass-pellet-burning cookstove. This sector currently relies heavily on charcoal stoves, which are both environmentally damaging and costly. Spitfire will introduce a breakthrough innovation as the first biomass-burning stove with a TEG-powered fan designed for everyday institutional use.

The primary objective is to create clean energy that is:

Affordable: Financing models will allow low-income institutions to spread upfront costs over monthly installments using savings from switching to cost-effective biomass pellets.
Reliable: The SPITFIRE stove can operate without an external electricity supply and generate surplus power for lighting and appliance charging, as well as providing heated water.
Low-carbon: Each SPITFIRE stove, using sustainably-produced biomass pellets instead of charcoal, can mitigate 18 tonnes of CO2 per year, with the potential for significant impact (1.5Mt/year, 80,000 stoves)

Audience

The primary target market for Spitfire is the Sub-Saharan African institutional clean-cooking sector, including orphanages, schools, restaurants, cafes, community centres, and more.

Deliverables

Develop and optimize a large-scale burner (15 kW) for institutional stove use.
Scale up the domestic 5 kW burner.
Design and simulate both hot side heat receptors and cold side heat exchanger to operate with the thermoelectric generator.
Design the first stove prototype based on initial specifications.
Develop a water tank for clean/warm water production.
Initial testing of stove burner with the thermoelectric module.
Test and configure burner control software with added functionality for the scaled-up burner.