China Biomass Stove Competition: A Summary Review of Pertinent Background, Standards, Testing and Enterprise Innovation

China Biomass Stove Competition: A Summary Review of Pertinent Background
Information Relating to Stove Standards for Performance and Emissions, Testing
Methodologies, and Enterprise Innovation

David Kaisel, MPH, MBA Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD)University of California, Berkeley September 2005
In association with China Association of Rural Energy Industry (CAREI)

Prepared for:
Promotion of Technology Innovation and Dissemination for High-Efficiency, Low-
Emissions Biomass Household Stoves in China and Abroad

Project supported by:
Shell China
The Shell Foundation

Background and Introduction
The China Association of Rural Energy Industry (CAREI) in partnership with the Center
for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD) at the University
of California, Berkeley, and through the financial and technical support of the Shell
Foundation and Shell China, is undertaking a major initiative to stimulate innovation and dissemination of highly efficient and clean-burning biomass household cookstove
technologies developed by Chinese manufacturers. The primary objectives of this
initiative are:
• Identify the most promising high-efficiency, low-emissions biomass stove
technologies and the best enterprises innovating in this field.
• Recognize and publicize these stoves and enterprises within China.
• Strengthen the capacity of the selected enterprises as needed by providing
management training, access to capital, and other business development
support.
• Identify export opportunities for these technologies and promote the selected
enterprises to fill appropriate market needs in other developing countries.
A cornerstone of the program’s methodology is the development and execution of a
national Chinese competition to identify highly effective stove designs as well as
manufacturers that demonstrate the greatest potential to meet the biomass stove needs ofunderserved markets worldwide.

Fundamental to the organization of a successful competition is the selection or
development of evaluation criteria and assessment methodologies that are credible,
reliable, comparable, transparent and relevant to multiple constituencies or stakeholders.

These constituencies include environmental and health certification and regulatory
authorities (at both local and national levels), stove manufacturers, industry and academic
expert groups, non-governmental organizations concerned with the dissemination of
enhanced stove technologies, rural and agricultural development agencies, as well as the general public (end users) in China and abroad.

The scope of this document is to provide a high-level review of biomass (including
wood-fueled) stove performance and emissions standards, and relevant test
methodologies as adopted by major markets worldwide, with the objective of providing
an empirical reference point for the development of the competition’s stove evaluation
criteria. While this summary does not intend to be an exhaustive bibliography of stove
tests and standards, we believe it contains the protocols most frequently cited in the stove design and performance literature reviewed. In the interests of brevity, the standards and methods cited have not been appended, but are available through CEIHD or the original sources upon request. This report is a deliverable under Phase I of the project workplan agreed to between CEIHD and CAREI.

In addition to a summary of significant stove standards and test methodologies, this
survey will review guidelines addressing stove design, including aspects of quality and safety. Finally, the report will present a brief discussion of several international awards, incentive programs, and standards for enterprise quality and competitiveness that may serve as context for development of stove competition criteria.
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