{"id":188167,"date":"2023-04-28T08:13:46","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T15:13:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=188167"},"modified":"2023-08-14T16:57:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T23:57:55","slug":"good-gear-biolite-fuels-outdoor-adventures-and-off-grid-households","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/good-gear-biolite-fuels-outdoor-adventures-and-off-grid-households","title":{"rendered":"Good Gear: BioLite Fuels Outdoor Adventures and Off-Grid Households"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When we spend time outside, we often make choices and mull trade-offs: Does the weather demand a down jacket or synthetic? Should we paddle a canoe or a kayak? Hop on a road bike or a mountain bike?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But trade-offs didn\u2019t appeal to Jonathan Cedar and Alec Drummond. Choosing one path or another felt like limiting their ambitions. Why not try to do more, all the time? they wondered. Why not think \u201cand\u201d when others thought \u201cor\u201d? Gear maker BioLite<\/a>, Cedar and Drummond\u2019s company, has built success on this philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BioLite unites the duo\u2019s love of the outdoors with a passion for engineering and design. Their products provide more than heat and light. They help customers in the outdoor recreation market and those in lower-income countries cook, charge devices and illuminate their homes and other spaces off the grid\u2014 all while balancing profits with a commitment to environmental and humanitarian goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And<\/em> not or<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A field agent hangs the BioLite SolarHome, a solar kit with a small solar panel, lights and USB charger. The SolarHome 620+ Lights, Charger and Radio<\/a> system is available in both emerging and outdoor markets<\/em> like REI<\/a> ($199). Photo courtesy: BioLite<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since launching 15 years ago, BioLite<\/a> has grown from a small venture producing efficient, wood-burning stoves for camping to a global company with a goal to provide access to affordable clean energy for 20 million people in off-grid households. Through retailers like REI<\/a>, BioLite sells products ranging from rechargeable headlamps<\/a> and lanterns<\/a> for camping to solar panels and portable power stations<\/a> that can electrify homes or campsites. Its customers span North America, Europe and more than 20 countries in Africa; and it has 95 employees in New York and Kenya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BioLite started as companies often do\u2014when its founders noticed a problem in need of a solution. Cedar and Drummond were passionate outdoor enthusiasts who didn\u2019t like using petrol-powered camp stoves. They wanted a cleaner alternative that they could fuel with abundantly available wood and twigs. The two were also skilled engineers who worked together at an industrial design firm. Around 2006<\/a>, the friends began tinkering. As they delved into the world of wood-burning stoves, they attended a conference in the field. They were shocked to find that about one-third of the world\u2019s population<\/a> cooks over open fires or inefficient stoves that use kerosene or coal, which is costly and pollutes the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two knew they could do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt just felt like such an amazing opportunity,\u201d said Cedar, CEO of BioLite. \u201cThis is where I get to contribute to the climate problem through energy solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balancing Outdoor and Emerging Markets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But the venture faced a paradox. The outdoor recreation market had higher margins and clear avenues for distribution and sales but was relatively small. The cookstove market in lower-income countries was massive, but it had low margins and the sales infrastructure was either fragmented or nonexistent. Funding was another challenge. The company could seek philanthropic dollars, but that would leave it dependent on the whims of donations or grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So BioLite\u2019s founders opted for a different strategy. They pursued a business model built on \u201cparallel innovation\u201d where the two markets could stabilize each other. While consumers in the outdoor and emerging markets had different needs, the technology was essentially the same. The unconventional approach found support from one of its early investors<\/a>, a fund created by Clayton Christensen, a Harvard professor who pioneered the theory of \u201cdisruptive innovation\u201d and new models to serve unmet market needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The BioLite CampStove 2+ (available as a complete kit at REI<\/a>, $249.95) burns small sticks and twigs to generate heat.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2012 the startup released its first product for the outdoor market. The BioLite CampStove burns sticks and twigs, using the heat generated to spin a small fan that feeds the flames and creates a more efficient, smokeless fire. It also includes a unique technology that harnesses waste heat and converts it into electricity that flows into a USB port for charging phones and other devices. (REI was an early retailer of the CampStove<\/a>, helping the then-small company scale its business<\/mark> at the time). BioLite then began selling a larger model, HomeStove<\/a>, with a slightly different configuration for consumers in India and Uganda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon, BioLite shifted its emerging market focus to multiple African nations and began producing efficient, charcoal-fueled stoves that cut fuel consumption and reduced toxic emissions. Customers could pay for the stoves over time through digital payment plans, using the money they saved from burning less fuel and free phone charging to help finance the devices. Then, in 2017, the company started selling carbon offsets for the stoves, calculating the amount of planet-warming pollutants that were avoided by using BioLite products. The carbon offsets also let them lower the price of the stoves. (REI bought carbon credits<\/a> from the BioLite Improved Stove Programme in Uganda as part of its commitment<\/a> to halve its emissions and to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 55% by 2030 while offsetting some emissions.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But BioLite was just getting started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going solar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was always our intention to be an energy company and do cooking, charging, lighting,\u201d Cedar said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2015, the company developed and released its first non-stove product: the PowerLight, a lightweight, USB rechargeable lantern. It was eventually replaced by the AlpenGlow lantern<\/a> that\u2019s perfect for camping or backyard hangouts. Then came the FirePit<\/a>, which applied BioLite\u2019s smokeless tech to the traditional campfire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years later, BioLite made the jump into larger solar power systems for electrifying homes in emerging markets. Worldwide, more than 700 million people lack electricity. For most, off-grid solar is the cheapest, quickest solution for accessing power, reports GOGLA<\/a>, the global association for the off-grid solar industry based in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCompanies like BioLite have played a fundamental role in enabling 420 million people to gain energy access in the last decade. Many of these people would have otherwise remained in the dark,\u201d said Koen Peters, GOGLA\u2019s executive director, by email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BioLite began selling SolarHome 620 in Africa in 2017, and then as a limited release in high-income countries. One of the challenges of marketing solar power in remote environments is making sure the home devices are simple enough to install so that a non-electrician can do it. In 2021, the company unveiled BioLite Academy<\/a>, a curriculum delivered via cell phones to train people to install the systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Campers set up BioLite portable solar and power<\/a>. (BaseCharge 600 Portable Power Station<\/a>, $699, and BioLite Solar Panel 100<\/a>, $399.95). Photo courtesy of BioLite<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The next frontier is its Solar Generator System, which includes BaseCharge<\/a>, a portable power station that can be charged via a standard wall outlet, a vehicle or by connecting to BioLite\u2019s solar panels. The devices supply power during outages or when you\u2019re camping or overlanding, replacing carbon-intensive alternatives like diesel-burning generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Climate Commitment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cedar is gratified to see consumers buying BioLite\u2019s growing line of climate-friendly products and curbing emissions in the process. But he\u2019s also excited about the potential broader impact: showing the public that a cleaner future will be a better, more enjoyable experience than the one now offered by fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BioLite is also trying to lead that transition by example. For more than a decade, the company has been calculating and sharing details about its own carbon footprint. It has worked to reduce emissions generated by its operations and annually paid for offsets that remove carbon elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A runner wears the <\/i>BioLite HeadLamp 325<\/a>, $49.95, a lightweight LED headlamp that recharges via a micro USB.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Cedar went a step further, partnering with Peak Design<\/a> founder and CEO Peter Dering to create Climate Neutral. The initiative certifies companies that tally their emissions and zero-out corporate contributions to climate change. Participants can use the “Climate Neutral Certified” label to identify their products as coming from a carbon-neutral company. REI joined the effort<\/a> in 2020, making it the largest brand at the time to sign on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

On its website, BioLite publicizes its broader ambition: \u201cWe are on a mission to empower people and protect our planet through access to renewable energy.\u201d But doing so has meant shouldering a higher financial burden, opting for lower-margin sales in emerging markets and voluntarily paying for carbon offsets. Creating a business is hard, so why make it harder?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cedar admits that striving to be a corporate climate leader isn\u2019t always easy. Ethically, though, it\u2019s the right thing to do, he says. What\u2019s more, he believes, the hard work now will make BioLite competitive in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs the bar high for us today? For sure,\u201d Cedar said. \u201cBut you don’t have to squint very hard to believe that this is what good business looks like 10 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we spend time outside, we often make choices and mull trade-offs: Does the weather demand a down jacket or synthetic? Should we paddle a canoe or a kayak? Hop on a road bike or a mountain bike? But trade-offs didn\u2019t appeal to Jonathan Cedar and Alec Drummond. Choosing one path or another felt like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9145,"featured_media":188201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,387],"tags":[1686,1944,727],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-188167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camp","category-hike","tag-camp","tag-good-gear","tag-latest-posts"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/camp\/good-gear-biolite-fuels-outdoor-adventures-and-off-grid-households","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Good Gear: BioLite Fuels Outdoor Adventures and Off-Grid Households","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/good-gear-biolite-fuels-outdoor-adventures-and-off-grid-households","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/good-gear-biolite-fuels-outdoor-adventures-and-off-grid-households"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/CampStoveCompleteCookKit_2.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/04\/CampStoveCompleteCookKit_2.jpg?fit=2000%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Camp","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Phuong Le"}],"creator":["Phuong Le"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["camp","good gear","latest posts"],"dateCreated":"2023-04-28T15:13:46Z","datePublished":"2023-04-28T15:13:46Z","dateModified":"2023-08-14T23:57:55Z"},"rendered":"