The specific goal is to design inexpensive solar cookers for domestic use. Solar cookers are commercially available but often need to be imported and transported over a long distance, and are typically very expensive. On top of that, they are not necessarily adapted to the local needs of families. Therefore, an important constraint of our project is that the novel solar cookers should be made locally from recycling material that is easily accessible and responding to the local needs.

We are developing a business plan for local small companies so that they can be manufactured locally and distributed at low costs. To create these inexpensive solar cookers, the project has founded a multidisciplinary research and development team within UniLu, in cooperation with UHasselt, to test new prototypes.

To achieve this, relevant interdisciplinary expertise (e.g. engineering, statistics, physics, economics and social sciences) from many different faculties at both universities will be integrated and the project will enable a maximum exchange of expertise. We are convinced that our inexpensive prototypes will be fit for small businesses to produce and sell anywhere in the DRC, Africa, or the world. Finally, the project will facilitate the education of a new generation of students to come up with innovative solutions where many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are implemented.