The Power of Design: Product Innovation in Sustainable Energy Technologies

A.2 The SolarBear Approach

To come to an integral solution, a parallel approach was chosen in the SolarBear initiative. This means that while technical research into practical application of adsorption cooling starts with assumptions about the market, the product design (prototyping cycles) will be driven by predictions about the technology. A third activity is market development in a selected initial market – in this case, India. This leads to the approach discussed throughout the remainder of this section.

A.2.1 Market Opportunities Research

Overlay maps of solar insulation, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and grid connection rate were produced in order to identify areas of large interest. Possible markets were identified together with experts, and the size of the market was roughly calculated. Based on this exploratory research, teams were sent to verify the market expectations in various regions and identify local needs; field studies were performed in Surinam, Ghana, and India.

A.2.2 Technical Opportunities Research and Prototyping

First, a literature review was performed that reviewed existing solutions to similar problems and evaluations, zooming in on solar adsorption cooling. An in-depth review of that technology's possibilities followed, serving as the starting point for the first prototype.

With the results of this first effort, a second prototype system was developed that satisfied identified market needs with the given technological possibilities. Further improvement ...