Powerwells：初创公司如何解决能源贫困和电子废物的双重问题
由Stacey Faucett
Now that the思科全球问题解决者挑战2022获奖者一直是正式宣布，您需要了解有关每个获胜团队以及每个创新背后的故事的更多信息。思科全球问题解决者挑战是一项在线竞争，该竞赛将现金奖励授予早期技术企业家解决世界上最棘手的问题。自2017年以来，该竞赛已授予来自25个国家 /地区的78家初创企业的325万美元。
We are excited for you to learn more about the 2022 winning teams addressing some of the biggest challenges we face through technology-based solutions.
MeetPowerWells，一家位于澳大利亚的初创公司在亚太，日本和中国（APJC）地区赢得了75,000美元的区域第一亚军奖。他们的解决方案解决了电子废物管理的双重全球问题，以及无法获得基本电力。
I sat down with Bradley Clair, one of the co-founders of PowerWells, who is passionate about the intersection of electronic waste recycling and energy poverty solutions. He shared more about how PowerWells is diverting batteries from landfills and how they are helping people make the switch from kerosene to clean energy.
What problem is your technology solution trying to solve?
布拉德：Powerwells试图解决全球能源贫困和电子废物的双重问题。我们要取代人们对煤油灯笼的依赖，这对环境和您的健康都是可怕的。一个坐在一点煤油灯的家庭等同于每天抽两包香烟。同时，在澳大利亚，目前只有约2％的锂离子电池被回收或重新利用。这些电池中有百分之九十八可能最终出现在垃圾填埋场中。那些废弃的电池中仍然有很多生活，可以将无法获得传统电网的人们转变为可持续的能源形式。
We recycle lithium-ion laptop batteries by pulling them apart and testing them. We get the good cells that are working, and then we use those cells to build bigger packs. We also use TV and computer screens, and we use the Perspex (a type of acrylic) inside of that and put that into the laser cutter to build the battery enclosure. We essentially created a small-scale solar system that we can put into places that don’t have access to electricity so that people can charge their phones and have light.
AtSubstation33，我们与我们合作的电子废物回收设施，我们可能处理了10多吨锂离子电池。在10吨锂离子电池中，大约80％的电池仍然可以使用。因此，这意味着从98％的电池中可能进入垃圾填埋场，其中80％是可用的。而且，我们不妨使用这些电池最终进入垃圾填埋场，而是使用它们为人们提供无电的电力。
您能解释解决方案的工作原理吗？
布拉德：What usually happens is we’ll have a whole heap of discarded computers here at Substation. Then we’ll have people pulling apart the computers and sorting out the different components. One of the components is the battery. Our team will test all the cells, and these types of batteries are similar to AA batteries. There are about six of these AA batteries in these laptop batteries. So, we’ll have people testing all these cells, and it’s usually only one of the cells that are dead, but you can’t use the battery anymore when that happens.
因此，我们得到正在工作的好细胞，然后它们测试所有仍在确定它们是否有益的细胞。我们对电池进行评分，等级有助于我们确定应用程序。如果它是一个很好的电池，我们会将其放入我们的电源系统中，如果它不是一个好的电池，我们会将其放入其他功能。
电池进行了测试，焊接并组装了有机玻璃外壳后，我们将电路板焊接，该电路板在Vertation 33上设计。关于电路板的明智之处是，它降低了电池延长其寿命的能力，因此我们不会充分充电或放电电池。我们只使用了大约50％的电池容量，在此过程中，您可以延长电池的寿命。因此，这与许多其他公司的工作完全不同。
我们还可以收集和捕获数据点，例如温度，湿度和进入系统的能量，这使我们深入了解系统的使用方式以及是否存在任何问题。从企业社会责任（CSR）的角度来看，无论谁投资于赞助这些系统，都可以看到其影响的回报。金博宝手机版网页
After sending them overseas, there is some final wiring, and they solder the batteries onto the circuit board and put the wrap over systems. They go out to the different villages, and the systems are installed in places that need them. The households that receive the system pay about 5 dollars a month to have access to electricity, and they pay that off over three years. It ends up being about 180 dollars to pay for the systems.
您解决问题的方式有什么创新性？是什么使您的解决方案与众不同？
布拉德：据我所知，我认为我们是唯一以这种方式使用电子废物来为无法获得电力的地方提供电力的公司之一。我们的目标是人和环境。我们希望使我们的系统易于使用本地采购的电子废物制造，并且易于维护，以确保系统的寿命，并且我们对我们试图解决的问题没有贡献。我们还将薪酬合并到您的技术时，以使家庭更容易偿还我们的系统，并且我们捕获了通过在线仪表板显示的遥测，以视觉上展示我们系统的影响。
是什么促使您开发了此解决方案？
布拉德：During a startup weekend at Substation33, we were asked to solve a social or environmental problem. We had a group member from West Papua, Indonesia, and he grew up in a village that didn’t have any access to electricity. His parents still live there, and they don’t have any power. So, we decided to tackle energy poverty, using our experience working with repurposed batteries. We made a battery, put it into a paint bucket, hooked a solar panel up to it, and put some USB charging ports on it. One of the judges asked us if we wanted to go ahead and do it, and two weeks later, we raised a few thousand dollars.
We flew over to Jakarta to test all the assumptions that we came up with during the startup weekend to see if it was something that would be worthwhile. We installed our prototype in a small village without power, and as soon as we put it in there, all the kids grabbed their smartphones and tablets that were completely dead and started charging their devices. We tested all our assumptions within a few weeks of coming up with the idea. We were inspired to start the business because we realized there was a need for it, and it was also possible.
在思科全球问题解决者挑战中赢得奖项将如何帮助您发展业务？
布拉德：Cisco’s funds will help propel us forward; it gives us an opportunity to go from pilot project to scale. We want to create more scalable processes, local manufacturing, training and employment opportunities for local teams on the ground. This prize gives us a great platform to reach out to other organizations and solar distributors, who would benefit from learning how to repurpose electronic waste to provide energy to people in need.
您知道您将专门使用奖金吗？
布拉德：由于Covid，我们无法出国与新合作伙伴见面并在印度尼西亚建立制造业。我们希望使用这笔钱与我们的合作伙伴Sumba可持续解决方案开始这一过程，这些解决方案目前正在分发我们的系统。我们还在考虑电动汽车的兴起（EV），并希望将其中的一些资金投入开发我们的下一个产品，其中包含使用的EV电池。
您对其他社会企业家有什么建议？
布拉德：It’s a tough journey. You’ve got to be willing to stick to it, even when you aren’t getting a lot in return. But it’s amazing when companies like Cisco back organizations like ours because it means so much, considering the amount of effort and time you put into it. Keep testing all of your assumptions, go out into the field, and stick with it.
请继续关注我们的更多文章blog series，由每位Cisco Global问题解决方案挑战赛2022获胜团队进行采访！
