The SIO Project aims to create a low cost solar water heater for low income families in areas where there is no access to electricity. It is estimated that there are 11 million people living in these areas. The majority of the heating system is made from highly available recycled products such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and shredded tyres. A distribution system using commission based community representatives will be created which will mean that the solar water heaters will be accepted more quickly and on a larger scale.
The project promises numerous benefits: production of a clean energy heating source, recycling of landfill waste and the provision of jobs and infrastructure for local people.
This project will also allow for rapid scale-up: it is relatively inexpensive, the pay back period for families who invest is approximately 6 months, providing the necessary incentive for families to part with their money. Furthermore the solar water heater is built using low cost, highly available raw materials and is simple to assemble. This will make it easy to distribute widely and quickly.

About the award winner: The University of Sao Paulo and Engineers Without Borders Brazil. Thomas Cortes will act as the team leader for this project, he is a Venture Capitalise Analyst at Monashees Capital, specialising in Energy Efficiency and Generation.