Sustainable Grill

Clean Energy specialist, leading environmental projects in Africa and India since 2015. Technical expert in Efficient Clean Cooking Technologies for the European Union Technical Assistance Facility for the Sustainable Energy West and Central Africa.

Registered professional engineer with thirteen years work experience in the energy sector and academia; covering Project & Construction Management positions and leading R&D projects, for €100M+ volume.

Holding a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA and M.Sc. & B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Dr. Parigi is first and co-author of several articles on Clean Cooking, Renewable Energy solutions.

Fabio has collaborated with Universities, Foundations and NGOs for the local construction and deployment of low-cost high-efficient cook stoves in rural Africa and India, affecting positively the life on more than 25,000 people.

The impacts were presented at Climate Change forums like COP23, COP24, COP25 & IEEE conference.

2.7Billions people use daily solid fuels (firewood) to cook on open fires (OF) their meals, affecting health, safety, biodiversity/forest loss and increases risks of gender-based violence. Wood burned on OF causes respiratory illnesses (4M deaths/year) and 20% of GHG emissions. Among them, 1.2B relay on <$1.25/day. Traditions and low incomes are limiting fuel-stove evolution. Free firewood collection burnt in OF has no means to the private sector, limiting the expansion of the stove market in that segment of the population.

We're deploying a $1 device that converts a traditional cook stove into a high efficiency one. It reduces wood usage by 63% and decreases soot by 89%. The solution has proven to perfectly fit into the local and social aspect of cooking and has more than 90% retention rate. The project will create jobs in the global south; save millions of tons of CO2/year; increase forest & biodiversity preservation.

About 3 Billions (B) people globally use solid fuels daily to cook, mainly burning cut firewood on open fires (OF), at the lowest thermal efficiency [Adria-Bethge, 2013]. OF affect health, safety and deforestation. Cooking indoor with an OF causes respiratory illnesses, leading to 4 Millions premature deaths worldwide per year [WHO, 2012]. OF can cause scalding [Huber-Warring, 2008] & eye injuries [Boy et. al]. Wood harvesting for cooking (WHFC) increases risks of musculoskeletal injury and violence especially for children. WHFC affects biodiversity & forest preservation, leads to 20% of global GHG emissions & climate change, second only to fossil fuel burning [FAO, 2018]. Economic constraints (1.2B people globally relay on <$1.25 a day [World Bank]) & traditions are limiting fuel evolution. Free firewood collection has no means to the private sector, thus limiting the development of global sustainable solutions for both efficient cooking and fuel management.

Build and deploy massively in the global south (GS) the Mewar Angithi (MA), a $1 high-efficient cook stove, developed & deployed in India in 2014, Ghana (2015) & Kenya (2015-2019) [Uday, Rao, Parigi]. MA vs. open fire decreases up to 63% firewood consumption & 10x CO2 emissions [Uday, Parigi, Barbieri]. MA is already positively affecting the life of 25K+ people, saving 12KtC emissions in the atmosphere per year [Rao, Parigi]. MAs master production units (PU) will be opened in the GS, serving as productive & training centers for the opening of future PUs managed by local social entrepreneurs (LSE). PUs are income opportunities for unskilled females, requiring simple mechanical tools & little training, as per model presented at COP24 & first opened in Kenya in 2019 [Parigi]. The team will plan, train, consult and follow-up LSE on PUs management. The target is to reach 1B people (200M families) in the GS within 5 years. This could save 2.7GtC in the atmosphere per year.

We are working in the global south since 2013, mainly in rural Africa and India with tribes, community leaders, farmers. We live and work with them; we listen; ask questions. We design and implement together solutions.

According to previous researches [Parigi], each MA will save, per year and for a family of 5, about 1500 Kg of firewood, 2500 Kg of CO2 emissions, 1500 hrs of walking time, hence reducing risk of gender based violence for women collecting wood. Projected data to the targeted 200M families could save 2.7GtC in the atmosphere per year. The saved walking time could be spent for more valuable activities: family, economic development, studies. The $1 material cost could give an interesting result in terms of $/solution; Production units will create 10 permanent jobs every 30k MAs produced [Parigi]. There will also be positive effects on forest and wild life preservation [Rao]. The program positively impacts the following SDGs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15.

We are passionate about finding solutions for difficult questions.

Innovation and risk-taking are part of the DNA of the project. The positive feedback we had up to now about the project are indicating we are on a good track. Young local leaders and entrepreneurs are taking forward the project them-self. We are focusing on marginal people, like young mothers and females without formal education.    

I attended Al Gore's Climate Change training (2013). He inspired me to go extra mile. While working full time for the private sector, I began a collaboration with researchers from the USA related to clean cooking in rural areas (2014).

Our team conducted a study on solar cooking in Rajasthan, India. The project was a failure, due to cultural resistance on solar technology, but from the lesson learned came out the development of an insert, the Mewar Angithi, a $1 device that converts a traditional inefficient cook stove into a high efficiency cook stove, perfectly accepted by the people. I worked part/time on it up to 2017 and since 2018 I am working full time. Nowadays, 25K+ people benefit from it.

I have been interested in environment preservation and social development since my teenage yeras. I have organized fundraising events at school for wells construction in Nicaragua or tree planting in West Africa. I was lucky enough to visit 80+ countries and thus witnessing the disappearance the Amazon forest for animal agriculture; massive deforestation in Ethiopia due to charcoal production or for firewood collection in Cameroon. I have engaged discussions with researchers, community leaders and politicians about climate change and deforestation.

My goal is leaving to future generations more trees to climb than there are today.

13 years’ work experience in R&D, Project, Program and Construction Management in the energy sector and at the university. Leading, since 2015, environmental projects in Africa, coordinating an international team composed of U.S., European universities and NGOs that develops climate change mitigation programs. The works have been presented at international conferences like IEEE and UN Conference of the Parties (COP22-25).

Recently, I am collaborating as Technical expert in Efficient Clean Cooking Technologies for the European Union Facility for the Sustainable Energy West and Central Africa.

In 2014-2018 I worked as energy Project Manager in Siemens Italy, successfully delivered 30+ energy projects with 50+ M€ value, in 15 countries among Americas, Middle East and Asia. I was in charge for multi-disciplinary projects from engineering till on-site commissioning, ensuring assigned project is completed within budget and schedule while meeting stakeholders needs, business objectives.

I led R&D projects related to the digitalization and Industry 4.0 in six Siemens’ factories setting new business' standards.

I hold a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering which I believe, make me well-positioned to deliver this project. I have lived in four continents and traveled 80+ countries.

As someone who has strong integrity, solid professionalism, deep diversity respect, gets excited by innovation, multicultural environment and would love to contribute, with my skill set and experience, to build a better and fair world in collaboration with MIT and its partners.

I was in charge of the installation of meteorological towers for wind data collection in rural areas. One campaign was running late due to a delay on the materials delivery. Winter was approaching. At the end of a long day's work, while we were about to lift the tower the winch broke-down. The team was cold and demotivated. The sun was almost gone and the wind from the north was whistling. An extended low pressure was coming, meaning that if we couldn’t finish the job that day, we would have done it in spring, thus losing all winter wind data. We could not afford it. At the horizon I spot a moving tractor. I reached the driver and convinced him to help us to lift the tower. He was skeptical at the beginning, I insisted on the importance for the science and for our team to accomplish the job that day. It was hard, cold and dark, but we made it. Stakeholders were happy and also the team.

As a student in Milan, Italy, I soon realized that there weren’t any sites to study after dark and holidays. Universities and public libraries were closing in late afternoon. After a quick survey among friends and other students, that confirmed the needs, I took actions. The challenge was to find a preferably public place with desks and heating/AC, that could allow students in throughout the night. We spotted a taxi station in the neighborhood that had a spare room, open 24/7 and located in a public building. We asked them about the possibility to host us at night for free. They agreed, but the city council should have placed furnitures and had to ratify it officially. I went to talk with the municipal councilor and presented him the proposal. He was skeptical about our real needs to study at night and about the availability of the taxi driver representatives. We organized a meeting with both. It went well. Nowadays, the public libraries of my suburb have dedicated study rooms for students of the neighborhood, that stay open at night and holidays.

Sustainable Grill is the cheapest clean cooking solution in the market and doesn’t modify at all the cultural aspect of cooking: low-tech and locally built; it presents 90% retention rate over a 12 months period; The currently available stoves are meant for users paying for fuel (from few to dozens USD/month). The private sector is not interested in people collecting firewood, living on <$1.25/day. Stoves provided by international organization are often produced aboard and modify the cooking experience, challenging the maintenance, fuel availability & increase costs for rural areas due to logistics (gas, pellet, briquettes). The retention rates are very low, to name a few reasons: expensive stoves given for free are sold to satisfy other cash-based needs; designs aren’t fitting properly the culture/other needs (heating and lighting); local fuel availability/high cost such as gas; finally, wood-stoves burning small woods aren’t compatible with machete tree cutting.

Thanks to the $1 cooking stove solution, we will serve the 1B people, relaying on less than $1.25 per day, that can’t afford any other technical solutions available in the market. This will have tremendous impacts on:

• Increase safety for young woman and kids;
• Decrease more than 50% firewood collecting time;
• Decrease the impact on climate change associated with CO2 and black carbon emissions;
• Improvement of domestic and global air quality;
• Forest and biodiversity preservation;
• Local economy development;
• Jobs creation.

Current number: 25000

serving in one year: 450000

serving in five year: 1000000000

Year 1:

The Goal is to open 3 Master Production Units (PU) in Africa, Central America and Asia partnering with local businesses and utilizing those as production and training centers for local social entrepreneurs (Franchising model). The production capability of each production unit is about 30000 Sustainable Grills (SG) per year, employing 10 local workers.

PU provide jobs with minimal training for non-technical people. The PU includes all the necessary machines to mechanize the production. The machines could also be man-powered, therefore work OFF-grid and without electrical energy.

Year 5:

Facilitate the opening, in franchise mode, of 6667 PUs, distributed in the global south. Installed production capacity: 200 millions stoves per year, hence serving 1B people.

The challenges that we will have to face in the next 1 year are:

• Financial (found raise $350000 to finance equipment/materials and management)
• Legal (create partnership with existing local institutions with legal entity and able to work in the country)
• Collect the fees and loaned capital from the production units to self-finance others openings;

 The challenges that we will have to face in the next 5 year are:

• Collect the fees and loaned capital from the production units to self-finance others openings;
• Legal: scale up the organization at international level to foster partnership with local institutions able to work at country and global level
• Logistics: optimize material flux

• Foster the fundraising department
• Finalize contracts with local NGOs to manage and deploy the technology
• Partner with international institutions already working at global scale, such as the UN and/or development aid agencies.

• We are partnering with US and Spanish foundations for the financial aspects and Kenyan and Ghanaian foundations for the local implementation;
• Spanish and Italian universities for technical support.

• The Elevate Prize could help to find advisory on:
  • fundraising aspects;
  • high-level partnerships;
  • Management;
  • Media and marketing campaign.