1. The Biomass Project:A Model for Bottom-of-the-Pyramid Projects Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute & KNUST The Design Lab & College of Engineering Charles “Casey” Goodwin & Lawrence Darkwah

2. RPI/KNUST Collaboration Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute KNUST College of Engineering The Design Lab Introduction to Engineering Design (Sophomore level) Chemical Engineering Principles Capstone Design Process Engineering Projects Collaborative Partnership Biomass Project Biomass Project … … Project Project Project Project Project Project Project Project KNUST School of Business E*ntrepreurship at Rensselaer (Rob Chernow) Humanities and Social Science (Ron Eglash) Ghanaian Farmers Kumasi Institute for Technology Energy and the Environment Plan: Biomass Project as a template for future collaborative projects

3. Vision/Goal Long Term: More numerous and better Global Design projects. Continued and improved relationship with partners Spin out enterprises from successful projects Near Term: To design a portable device which produces energy from biomass and waste streams To provide educational value to students (KNUST & RPI) – Practical Problem Solving and Skills training Near Term Objectives To produce a device which is cost effective to build, operate, and maintain. To device portable real-time and reliable measuring tools for parameters measurements To validate data collected from prototypes of devices. To assess cultural, environmental, and socio‐economic benefits / impacts To establish student and faculty exchange programmes for designing, laboratory assessments, field trials and evaluations.

4. Physical Output (Deliverables) Prototypes Stimulated Students Design Reports Business Plans Communication Skills Improvement – Customers & Stakeholders Project Topic Formulation Effective Working in Multidisciplinary Team Design Skills Acquisition Team & Leadership Skills Acquisition Learning Outcome Practical Problem Solving Techniques Prototype/Artifact Production Data Collection Experience with Sourcing Materials Global Perspective Analysis Poster Creation & Poster Presentation Methods of Data Collection (EDA) Leverage Previous Courses Technical Reporting Team Building (MBTI) Field Trips Teaching Models & Materials Engineering Specifications (Numerical Methods) Translate to Market Specifications Customer Requirements Decision Matrices for Decision-making Laboratory Process Visionary / Networker - Ron Eglash Mentors - Casey, Aren, Lawrence & others Collaborators - Rob Chernow PEOPLE End Users (Farmers) Seniors Lauren Spinelli & others Group Brainstorming Prepare Statement of Work Build Teams Field Trips & International Travel ACTIVITIES Designing with CAD Create Poster & present Write Mid-term Report Laboratory testing Prototype Building Library Textbooks Laboratory Facilities Raw Materials Internet RESOURCES Catalogues Design Softwares & Facilities

5. Future Plans (Biomass project) Next Steps: 1. Refining the current Biosolar prototype for sun tracking 2. Field testing of Biosolar in Ghana with variety of feedstocks 3. Characterization of properties and quantities of the streams of products – Syngas, Bio-oil and Biochar 4. Operational Parameter Devices design & production Time frame/Schedule: 3 – 5 years to complete project(Not sure yet). Needs/Partnerships: RPI, KNUST, GMD, DSES, Farmers/Farmer Co-ops, KITE (TBD)

6. Future Plans (Strategic Plan) Continue Biomass project to completion Begin new projects with KNUST and others Begin course at RPI to augment Design Lab Capstone Course projects focusing on Global Design Begin course at KNUST in entrepreneurship and business startup

8. Multidisciplinary Expertise

9. Lack of Business Experience (we are engineers)

10. Low skills (of end users)

11. High materials Cost in Ghana

12. [biomass project] – availability of raw material

13. Emerging markets

14. [ghana] – low labor rate

15. Exchange Programs

16. Social Impact

17. Cultural Barriers

18. Communication

19. Time difference