Project description DEENESFRITPL Small farms look to solar power to water crops Irrigation is essential for effective crop production. However, 80 % of the world’s cultivated areas lack access to irrigation due to infrastructure and grid deficiencies. Conventional irrigation pumps are designed for extensive irrigation and are big and heavy. They are not suitable for remote areas that do not have grid connection and where fuel is not always available. In this context, the EU-funded sunlight2.0 project will bring to market an affordable, portable, highly efficient and user friendly solar water pump. It runs with solar energy and facilitates the irrigation of inaccessible sites, eliminating fuel/electricity costs and reducing transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Ennos is a Swiss company founded in 2006 as a spin-off of Berne University of Applied Sciences under the lead of Prof Dr. Andrea Vezzini, who has a long track record in solar energy and motor drive systems. We are an interdisciplinary team of experienced engineers and marketing experts, who have dedicated our efforts to develop and demonstrate sunlight2.0 a second generation of highly efficient, portable solar-powered irrigation pumps targeted for smallholders in isolated rural areas. There are more than 570 million farms in the world, most of them being located in distant rural areas. Out of those farms, about 84% are smaller than 2 ha. Nowadays, bigger crop areas have to be put under irrigation to increase productivity due to a growing population that has to be fed. This implies a growing need for energy and water resources. Besides, 16% of the global population did not have access to electricity in 2016, mainly in rural areas where the majority of smallholders are located. Therefore, smallholder farmers need competitive solutions, economically affordable and efficient and that enable them to increase their profits. sunlight2.0 is a portable and user friendly pump which is highly efficient and affordable to smallholders. sunlight2.0 has almost no maintenance costs and allows farmers to save the cost of diesel or electricity producing zero emissions. During Phase 2 project we expect to increase the efficiency of the pump, reduce weight and optimize production costs compared to our previous sunlight1.0 product. Completion of Phase 2 project and will require €1 million investment, that will provide an estimated ROI of 5.7 by 2025. Fields of science engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energysolar energyengineering and technologycivil engineeringwater engineeringirrigationnatural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologysocial scienceseconomics and businesseconomicsproduction economicsproductivityagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagriculture Programme(s) H2020-EU.3.3. - SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Secure, clean and efficient energy Main Programme H2020-EU.2.1.1. - INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) H2020-EU.2.3.1. - Mainstreaming SME support, especially through a dedicated instrument Topic(s) SMEInst-09-2016-2017 - Stimulating the innovation potential of SMEs for a low carbon and efficient energy system Call for proposal H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017 See other projects for this call Sub call H2020-SMEINST-1-2016-2017 Funding Scheme SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1 Coordinator ENNOS AG Net EU contribution € 50 000,00 Address AARBERGSTRASSE 5 2560 NIDAU Switzerland See on map SME The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed. Yes Region Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Espace Mittelland Bern / Berne Activity type Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 71 429,00
