[Grand Finale Finalist: 13/18] Rajnish Jain – AVANI, Generating Electricity from Pine needles

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“Rise is to challenge the problems instead of complaining, to try and find solutions instead of talking about them, and if we dare to look around, solutions are often part of the problem.”  - Rajnish Jain, Founder, AVANI

Himalayan pine needles are about 25cm long and very slender. Yet, a few kilos worth of these tiny needles, collected from 1-2 hectares of land, hold the potential to provide electricity for 50 people and cooking charcoal for 5 people. Once these needles are put into a gassifier system, 15% of the needle is burned while the other 85% is brought to a scorching temperature of 800 degrees Celsius. At this temperature the needle converts to gas. Once this gas is filtered, it can be used to drive an alternator that generates electricity. The waste from the part of the needle that is burned can be converted into charcoal bricks for use in the kitchen.  Amazing, huh?

Top three reasons why you should vote for AVANI:

1. It harnesses the destructive energy of pine needles for cooking charcoal and for generating electricity.
2. It stops forest fires, saves biodiversity and reduces carbon emissions.
3. It generates incomes locally, stopping outmigration and increasing togetherness of families.