#makethefuture campaign highlights cleaner energy innovations

Santa Marta was chosen to host the Shell #makethefuture campaign because it is already benefitting from Insolar, a solar energy start-up that is one of the featured entrepreneurs being supported by Shell.

Source: Shell

Young Brazilian entrepreneur, Henrique Drumond, who founded Insolar sees the project as a significant step in his mission to help to bring cleaner energy to Brazil, where solar accounts for only 0,02% of the energy mix, with only 1,731 small-scale solar systems connected to its grid – despite more than 2,000 hours of sunlight blazing on the country each year. In Rio alone, an estimated 1,4m residents of the city’s 763 favelas are affected by rising energy prices and unreliable power supply.

Insolar is fitting photovoltaic panels to some of Santa Marta’s most widely used community centres, including a samba school and crèche, which are central to the life of the community’s 8,000 residents.

The Insolar installation is expected to generate the equivalent of 185,000 days of free, clean power over the lifetime of the solar panels.

Showcasing bright energy technologies in Rio kick-starts a global ‘energy relay’ to show collaboration with leading energy entrepreneurs is vital to help to secure a bright energy future, and to invite the world to support and participate in the creation of smart energy solutions.

The innovations that will be displayed in Santa Marta alongside Insolar include:

• bio-bean – which explores how to reduce the UK’s CO₂ emissions from transport by turning coffee dregs into a sustainable transport fuel.

• Capture Mobility – demonstrates how roadside turbulence from cars and trucks can generate clean power for local communities

• GravityLight – improves health and wellbeing in energy deprived communities by using a simple pulley and weight system to generate electricity.

• MotionECO – uses waste cooking oil to help to create a market for renewable diesel in China (in transport, public services and logistics) and discourage the harmful reuse of cooking oil.

• Pavegen – converts power from footsteps into renewable energy that can power a community

  Royal Dutch Shell chief executive, Ben van Beurden, says: “I’m personally inspired by the ingenuity of these innovators, and the ambition to forge a brighter energy future for our planet. Collaboration and entrepreneurialism are essential to finding energy solutions that can enable development and a decent way of life for people across the world while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. These values are central to our #makethefuture campaign to help achieve a better energy future together.”

  Drumond says: “My vision was to create a social enterprise that provides communities with a cleaner source of energy. On my journey through the Shell programmes that support entrepreneurs, including Shell Iniciativa Jovem, and the Accelerator, the company has always supported this vision. I am thrilled to see this collaboration brought to life in Rio. We hope Santa Marta will be an inspiration to other bright minds and unlock more answers to tomorrow’s energy challenges in communities, cities and countries around the world.”

  In October, #makethefuture will move on to Kenya, where Shell is working with GravityLight – a UK-based start-up that has developed a gravity-powered lamp designed to improve health and wellness across Kenya by bringing clean, affordable light to low income homes.