Envirofit International is already known for its clean-burning cooking stoves, which have been on the market since May 2008. Since then, the stoves have reached 60,000 customers. Over the next five years, these stoves could reduce CO2 emissions by over 400,000 tons and prevent over 85,000 kg of black carbon from entering the atmosphere, all while generating savings of $18 million. Now the Colorado company has unveiled the next generation of its stove: the G-Series, a cheaper, more durable model suitable for poor families in the developing world.
Previous Envirofit stoves have been constructed from ceramic, but the new G-Series stove is made out of metal—a stronger material that is cheaper to produce. All of the company's single-pot stoves use wood, coal, and crop waste—the same materials used in traditional stoves—but Envirofit has developed a combustion chamber that uses up to 60% less fuel than other stoves and slashes toxic emissions by up to 80%.
While Envirofit's ceramic stoves retail for $30, the G-Series can be purchased for $25. It's still expensive for families who survive on $2 to $5 a day, but Envirofit assists customers with microfinance loans. The stoves also pay for themselves within six months thanks to fuel cost savings, and drastically reduce toxic indoor air pollution. That alone is a big deal—indoor air pollution kills 1.6 million people each year.
Envirofit has sold its stoves in India up until this point, but the company plans to expand its reach to African countries as well. In order to adapt to different cultural norms, Envirofit is also working on customizing the stove with a flat cooking surface surface and a second pot.