 | Issue: | Africa and the Middle East 2008 |
| Article no.: | 14 | |
| Topic: | Solar power for mobile phones in emerging markets | |
| Author: | Robert Hertzberg | |
| Title: | Chairman | |
| Organisation: | G24 Innovations | |
| PDF size: | 268KB |
About author
Robert Hertzberg is the Chairman of G24 Innovations. As Chairman of G24i, Mr Hertzberg directs renewable energy policy issues and works on many aspects of company activities. Mr Hertzberg was twice unanimously elected on a bipartisan vote as Speaker of the California State Assembly, and was a candidate for Los Angeles Mayor in the 2005 election. During his speakership, Mr.Hertzberg was instrumental in drafting legislative solutions to the California Energy Crisis. Together with his leadership team, he developed the most comprehensive energy conservation standards in the US as well as leading the fight on new environmental standards for renewable energy and a cleaner environment. Appearing on Nightline, CNN and other national news shows, Mr Hertzberg took thoughtful positions on the many public policy issues facing California and the nation. In the UK, he was recently featured in The Guardian’s list of “50 People who Could Save the Planet’’. Mr Hertzberg was recently named in the Los Angeles Times as One of the 100 Most Influential People in Southern California.
Article abstract
Robert Hertzberg is the Chairman of G24 Innovations. As Chairman of G24i, Mr Hertzberg directs renewable energy policy issues and works on many aspects of company activities. Mr Hertzberg was twice unanimously elected on a bipartisan vote as Speaker of the California State Assembly, and was a candidate for Los Angeles Mayor in the 2005 election. During his speakership, Mr.Hertzberg was instrumental in drafting legislative solutions to the California Energy Crisis. Together with his leadership team, he developed the most comprehensive energy conservation standards in the US as well as leading the fight on new environmental standards for renewable energy and a cleaner environment. Appearing on Nightline, CNN and other national news shows, Mr Hertzberg took thoughtful positions on the many public policy issues facing California and the nation. In the UK, he was recently featured in The Guardian’s list of “50 People who Could Save the Planet’’. Mr Hertzberg was recently named in the Los Angeles Times as One of the 100 Most Influential People in Southern California.
Full Article
Mobile telecommunications continues to evolve at a rapid pace and, as Vodafone’s Arun Sarin keenly noted, the winners and losers will be defined by a ‘scramble to supply emerging markets’. We have already seen phenomenal growth within developing and rural communities across the globe. This year alone, more than 800 million phones will be sold worldwide, with 160 million – or 20 per cent – of these devices sold in the developing world. And that percentage continues to rise fast. In 2000, there were 61 million mobile phone users in the developing world. Today there are an estimated 600 million and by 2015 some analysts predict the market will stand at two billion. The consistent barrier to continued growth has been affordable and convenient access to power. Access to mobile power in remote and rural areas has been the key limiting factor for handset manufacturers, distributors and network operators. That is, until now. The solution has always been with us – or rather above us. The question has been how to harness this incredible source of free and ubiquitous energy. On a bright day, the sun provides approximately 1000 watts of energy per square metre of the earth’s surface. After many a false dawn with traditional silicon solar devices, the solar power sector has come up with a viable alternative power solution for developing world markets, known as Dye-Sensitised Thin Film technology. Unlike traditional solar cells which thrive in direct sunlight but don’t perform in low light conditions, Dye-Sensitised Thin Film cells perform well in ambient-light conditions, making them viable for emerging markets for the first time. If your aim is to provide a portable power solution for individuals in Africa, glass silicon panels that need to be positioned at the perfect angle to the sun, under a cloudless sky, are simply not an option. You need a solution that isn’t so unreliable – one that works at sunrise, sunset, on a cloudy day, and on the move. Dye-Sensitised Thin Film cells shine in these real-world conditions. Originally conceived by Dr. Michael Gratezel at the Swiss Institute of Technology (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne [EPFL]) as far back as 1991, ‘Graetzel cells’ have taken over eighteen years of development and refinement to bring to commercial viability. As with many breakthrough technologies, the concept is relatively simple. Graetzel found that the combination of titanium oxide, a common pigment in white paint, and a coloured dye could be used to mimic Nature’s own photosynthesis. When struck by sunlight, the dye emits an electron, which is immediately captured by the specks of titanium oxide. By collecting the electrons at one side of his new solar cell, and replacing them at the other side with an iodide electrolyte solution, Graetzel produced an electric current. Besides working in real-world light conditions, Dye-Sensitised Thin Film cells have a range of other unique properties which make them ideal for developing world applications. The absence of heavy and brittle silicon makes them light in weight and durable. The rugged conditions in many developing countries do not impact upon these cells’ ability to generate electricity and the increased flexibility of the cells has led manufacturers to consider integrating this solar technology into new products and in ways not previously thought possible. The significant breakthrough in commercialising Dye-Sensitised Thin Film technology has offered the mobile communications sector a viable solution to the emerging market energy access problem. The first solar-powered mobile phone chargers to integrate this technology are now on sale in Africa and are expected to open up a wealth of new sales channels. The industry accepts that the world’s rapidly emerging markets represent a battleground that could redefine the sector. Two of the top ten telecoms companies by market capitalisation now have headquarters in emerging markets, China Mobile and America Movil. Perhaps more importantly, there are a number of fast-growing companies just outside the top ten with headquarters in Africa, Asia and Russia. Are these the companies to challenge the status quo? If so, they will need to offer potential customers and partners in these markets an acceptable solution to the barrier of expensive and irregular energy access. Enter Dye-Sensitised Thin Film. This isn’t about providing expensive, Rolls Royce-quality, alternative energy solutions as we seem to focus on in the West. It’s applying a simple but hugely significant technological breakthrough to a simple product – the mobile phone charger – in order to transform millions, if not billions, of lives. Some 1.6 billion people – or one-quarter of the world’s population, have no access to electricity. Eighty per cent of these live in India and sub-Saharan Africa. Up until now, mobile telephony was simply not seen as an option for these sections of society. The farmer had no access to crucial weather reports and the fisherman could not call ahead to secure the best price for the day’s catch. The combination of alternative energy sources with the significant progress the sector has already made in developing much cheaper handsets, will provide the solution, creating new markets and having a real impact on people’s lives. As the West begins to pull together in the fight against climate change, it is also important to note that the developing world need not be excluded from this debate. Just as many developing markets have skipped the development of a fixed telecommunications structure in favour of a more modern wireless network, so may they reduce their future reliance on polluting energy sources by adopting next-generation methods of energy production. It is widely accepted that each and every sector of business has a role to play in the reduction of emissions and the mobile communications sector has an unrivalled opportunity to achieve this by stimulating the mass adoption of green power sources in its emerging markets. The continued globalisation of the industry need not cost the earth. The human impact of this technology is potentially immense. However, in this case, ‘good business’ also makes good business sense. At the moment, mobile phone operators are investing millions to deliver low-cost handsets to the developing world, only to find that they are barely being used. Why? Because owners who spend all their money on charging the phone are left with no disposable income to make calls. Research has shown that, on average, it costs a developing world mobile user in the range of 40 cents to charge their device. That’s roughly US$48 per year and an unsustainable percentage of average family income. By providing a solar alternative to this high cost – not to mention the inconvenience of current charging options – both the mobile phone owner and the network operator benefit considerably. Increased disposable income equates to a higher Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for operators who might otherwise be missing out not only on revenues from potential calls made but also revenues from calls that would have been received had the device not run out of battery life. Ultimately, I expect we will see this technology integrated directly into handsets or even used on a mass scale as an alternative energy source for often unreliable base stations in emerging markets. We can be sure of one thing; solar technology can now fuel a further explosion of mobile phone markets in the developing world. The early adopters of this technology will reap the rewards in a possible changing of the guard at the top of the global telecommunications sector.
