NEW IDEA: The Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution Pump Challenge

As part of its environmental mission, Greenpeace has previously created and promoted new technology and products are continuing this effort with a new open innovation initiative: the Energy [R]evolution Challenges.

Through these challenges Greenpeace specifically aims to advance decentralized / off-grid renewable energy solutions that can help reduce CO2emissions and combat climate change. At the same time, we hope to create strong communities of innovators and evangelist around these new solutions, and mobilize them to accelerate traction.

The first challenge hopes to create a watershed moment in Indian agriculture.

India is one of the largest emerging economies and one of the world's largest CO2 emitters. One source are millions of Indian small farmers, who depend on diesel powered irrigation pumps to water their crops. But diesel prices are rising, making it ever harder to pay for fuel. At the same time, diesel engine emissions accelerate global warming that causes extreme climate events like super floods and droughts, which further threaten farmers’ fragile livelihoods.

Pumps powered by clean renewable energy, especially solar pumps, could solve both the economic and environmental dilemma: they don’t emit greenhouse gases, and their fuel is free. But there is currently no pump available on the market that is specifically tailored to the needs of the Indian small farmer: portable, cheap enough to be viable as a product without government subsidies, and yet with sufficient performance to water a typical small plot.

To solve this problem, Greenpeace is calling engineers and designers, tinkerers, inventors and students, anyone who is interested in the issue and wants to contribute to a solution, to join forces and create a breakthrough pump design.

For ten weeks - from the 3th of September to the 15th of November 2013 - challenge participants from all over the world will work together as a community on our proven open innovation web platform and with the help of a renowned expert jury, attempting to start a watershed moment in Indian agriculture: an energy [r]evolution in irrigation.

Participants get a chance to win prizes worth €30,000 and turn their concept into reality, through help with prototyping, in-field beta testing, matching with Indian manufacturers, and market acceleration through a peer-to-peer, local trust based marketing model.