Dr. Cedrick Ngalande is a Malawian inventor for the world’s poor. His main efforts have gone toward developing new methods for rural Africans to generate enough electricity to power small electrical devices like cell phones. Ngalande’s invented an inexpensive power source that is run on sugar and yeast. Because sugar and yeast make alcohol, the generator is able to harness energy by releasing the product of the solution’s expansion through a valve. The prototype, made specifically for Africa, generates power for up to 8 hours at a time.
With the fastest growing cell phone rate occurring in Africa, there are big challenges to using the hand-held technology because electricity is scarce in the region. While many Africans may have mobile phones, they have a difficult time charging them. Some walk long distances to simply charge their phones. But with the help of Ngalande’s generator, charging electrical devices is less of a challenge. In addition to cell phones, Ngalande’s power source can also be used to charge $100 computers which are being introduced in Africa, and even charge or operate medical devices in rural Africa.
Dr. Ngalande is seeking investors to help him manufacture, market and sell his low-cost generator in Africa.
-- Jaimie Hwang
Source: AfriGadget
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