SolSource
File:SolSource solar cooker.jpg
SolSource was a brand of solar cooker which used a parabolic mirror to concentrate solar energy onto the bottom of a cooking pot or pan. The cookers were manufactured by One Earth Designs. Initially marketed in rural China, the products were later sold worldwide.
Research and development
The SolSource was originally developed by Scot Frank, a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology while studying household energy usage in remote parts of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and India, beginning in 2005.{{cite news | last =Matheson | first =Rob | title =Cooking up innovation: An MIT alumnus brings solar-powered cookers to the people of the Himalayan plateau, helping end their dependency on biomass fuels | newspaper =MIT News | location = | pages = | language = | publisher =Massachusetts Institute of Technology| date =June 24, 2013 | url =http://news.mit.edu/2013/scot-frank-one-earth-designs-0624 | accessdate =May 27, 2017 }} Original designs used indigenous materials such as fabric made of yak fur. By 2008, Frank had received a US $3000 grant from MIT to perfect his design. {{cite news | last =Leonard | first =Wendy | title =Utah native utilizing sun's rays in Asia| newspaper =Deseret News | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =July 27, 2008 | url =http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700246278/Utah-native-utilizing-suns-rays-in-Asia.html
| accessdate =May 28, 2017 }} After graduation, Frank began teaching science at Qinghai University.{{cite news | last =Sharp | first =Mark | title =Solar-powered cooker puts local clean energy start-up on the global map: What began as an effort to bring cleaner cooking to mainland villages has blossomed into a global business for a local start-up, writes Mark Sharp | newspaper = | location = | pages = | language = | publisher =South China Morning Post | date =October 10, 2013 | url =http://m.scmp.com/lifestyle/technology/article/1328645/solar-powered-cooker-puts-local-clean-energy-start-global-map | accessdate =May 27, 2017}} He teamed up with Catlin Powers, a graduate of the Harvard School of Public Health to form One Earth Designs. Powers had done research on indoor air pollution on the Himalayan plateau caused by burning fuels for cooking and heating. {{cite news | last =Hammer | first =Katie | title =Removing indoor pollution: Researcher helps create sun-powered solution to toxic air in many lands| newspaper =Harvard Gazette | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =August 21, 2013 | url =http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2013/08/removing-indoor-pollution/ | accessdate =May 27, 2017}}
Commercialization
In 2010, the project won an environmental prize of €500,000, equivalent to US $662,200, from the Nationale Postcode Loterij in the Netherlands. Prototypes of the SolSource could generate electricity at that time.{{cite news | last =Byrne | first =Ciara | title =The SolSource Solar Oven Wins 500K EU in the Green Challenge | newspaper =New York Times | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =September 23, 2010 | url =http://www.nytimes.com/external/venturebeat/2010/09/23/23venturebeat-the-solsource-solar-oven-wins-500k-eu-in-the-65418.html | accessdate =May 27, 2017 }}
In 2011, US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman Jr. said that the SolSource "could be significant to the U.S.-China relationship since clean energy will be a substantive aspect of our future bilateral priorities."{{cite news | last =Fahys | first =Judy | title =Young Utah engineer tackles world's toughest problems | newspaper =Salt Lake Tribune | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =January 31, 2011 | url =http://archive.sltrib.com/story.php?ref=/sltrib/home/51149263-76/frank-stove-solar-designs.html.csp | accessdate =May 27, 2017 }}
By 2012, the business was based in Hong Kong. Their business model included selling their products in remote western China, in cooperation with the Chinese government.{{cite news | last =Liu | first =Juliana | title =Social entrepreneurship takes off in China | newspaper =BBC News | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =September 23, 2012 | url =http://www.bbc.com/news/business-19652712 | accessdate =May 27, 2017 }}
SolSource went into full production in 2012, initially distributed in the province of Qinghai on the Tibetan plateau. In 2013, the company began sales in the United States and other countries, following a successful Kickstarter campaign, focusing on the outdoor barbecue market.{{cite news | last =Haffner | first =John | last2 =Frank | first2 =Scot | last3 =Powers | first3 =Catlin|title =Now They're Cooking: SolSource Harnesses the Himalayan Sun | newspaper =Policy Innovations | location = | pages = | language = | publisher =Carnegie Council | date = June 16, 2014| url =http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/innovations/data/000264| accessdate =May 27, 2017 }}
In 2014, the company won a CleanEquity Monaco award, given by Albert II, Prince of Monaco to companies with "the greatest potential and most innovative technologies" in the clean energy field.{{cite web | url =http://www.cleanequitymonaco.com/presenting-companies | title =Presenting Companies | last = | first = | date =2017 | website =CleanEquity Monaco | publisher = | access-date =May 28, 2017 | quote = }}
In 2017, the company introduced its second model, the smaller and less expensive SolSource Sport, again utilizing a Kickstarter campaign.{{cite news | last =Markham | first =Derek | title =The $149 SolSource Sport is a powerful portable solar cooker | newspaper =TreeHugger | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =May 25, 2017 | url =https://www.treehugger.com/solar-technology/solsource-sport-powerful-portable-solar-cooker.html | accessdate =May 27, 2017 }}
Powers became the company's CEO, and Scot Frank was an advisor.{{cite web | url =https://www.oneearthdesigns.com/meet-us/ | title =Meet Us | last = | first = | date =2017 | website =One Earth Designs | publisher = | access-date =May 29, 2017 | quote = }}
The company secured $500,000 in funding from Mark Cuban in 2017 on season 9 of the Shark Tank reality TV show, but ceased commercial operations in 2019.{{cite web | url =https://sharktankrecap.com/solsource-update-shark-tank-season-9/ | title =Solsource Grill Update: Shark Tank Season 9 | last =Smith | first =Andrew | date = June 5, 2024| website =Shark Tank Recap | publisher = | access-date =March 22, 2025 | quote = }}
Products
The original SolSource weighed 40 pounds (18 kilograms), and had a 51 inch (1.3 meter) diameter mirror. It was intended to be placed at ground level.
The SolSource Sport weighed 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms), and had a 30.5 inch diameter mirror. It was a tabletop unit.{{cite news | last =Lavars | first =Nick | title =SolSource cooker gets compact for solar-grilling on the go | newspaper =New Atlas | location = | pages = | language = | publisher = | date =May 29, 2017 | url =http://newatlas.com/solsource-sport-solar-grilling/49756/ | accessdate =May 29, 2017}}