Global LEAP’s Off-Grid Refrigerator Competition and Innovation Prize Winners Announced
HONG KONG – On January 22nd at the Global Off-Grid Solar Forum and Expo, the Scaling Off-Grid Energy Grand Challenge for Development (SOGE) announced the results of the 2016-17 Global LEAP Awards Off-Grid Refrigerator Competition, identifying the world’s best, most energy-efficient refrigerators designed for compatibility with off-grid solar energy systems.
The results released included best-in-class products in five size categories. The competition also identified two products – DCR165 and DCR50 – from SunDanzer Refrigeration Inc. as the winners of innovation cash prizes of $200,000 each for demonstrated market-leading advancement in energy efficiency and overall value, respectively. The prizes were sponsored by the U.S. Global Development Lab and the U.K. Department for International Development’s (DfID) Ideas to Impact programme as part of their commitment to the Scaling Off-Grid Energy: A Grand Challenge for Development.
Highly energy-efficient, appropriately designed and priced off-grid refrigerators can improve livelihoods and achieve broader development impacts. SunDanzer designed the DCR50 product specifically for submission to the Global LEAP Awards. The DCR50 requires just over 100 Watts to run for an entire day, substantially less than conventional refrigerator products, and offered the best value for money. SunDanzer’s other winning product, the DCR165, used energy most efficiently as determined by performance metrics including daily energy consumption and the time required to achieve and maintain a target temperature.
Global LEAP Innovation Prize winning SunDanzer products use Secop compressors manufactured by Nidec GA Compressors.
The purpose of the Global LEAP Awards is to incentivize innovation and identify best-in-class appliance products that are compatible with small-scale off-grid solar energy systems. These products can help build demand and accelerate growth for solar household systems.
Winners and Finalists from the Global LEAP Awards Off-Grid Refrigerator Competition are eligible to participate in the Global LEAP Off-Grid Appliance Procurement Incentives programme. Supported by Power Africa and Energising Development (EnDev), the program drives best-in-class appliance products into key off-grid markets by providing incentives to appliance manufacturers and off-grid solar distributors that partner to distribute large quantities of best-in-class off-grid refrigerators.
INNOVATION PRIZE WINNERS:
Detailed information about all Winners and Finalists—including product performance data and sales contact information—is available in the
About Nidec Global Appliance (GA) Compressors (formerly Secop)
Nidec Global Appliance (GA) Compressors is a leading compressor manufacturer committed to developing and supporting technologies and products that promote energy efficiency. The company is active in the sectors of household, light commercial and DC-powered refrigeration and has developed a range of compressors which operate with the use of <link solutions natural-refrigerants>hydrocarbons, R600a (isobutane) and R290 (propane). Secop, formerly known as Danfoss Compressors, belonged to the German AURELIUS Group of companies since 2010.
On August 1, 2017, Nidec successfully acquired the German compressor manufacturer Secop.
