Call for Clean Cooking Technologies for Rwanda Clean Cooking Program

To support the implementation of Rwanda’s Biomass Energy Strategy, the Government of Rwanda is collaborating with the World Bank for a clean cooking program under the Rwanda Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project. The objective of the clean cooking program is to provide new or improved access to clean cooking solutions to 500,000 households by 2026. The program will set up a results-based financing (RBF) window to provide cash incentives to the private sector players to deliver qualified clean cooking solutions to eligible households. It will also provide technical assistance and capacity building to support an enabling environment for clean cooking sector development. For more information about the clean cooking program, please refer to the Rwanda Energy Access and Quality Improvement Project appraisal document accessible through EDCL.

The objective of this call for clean cooking technologies is to encourage manufacturers and vendors of clean cooking technologies to submit their products as candidate technologies for evaluation.  If accepted, these products will be qualified for inclusion in the Rwanda Clean Cooking Program for support and promotion such as RBF incentives, technical assistance, and public campaign.

Key Evaluation Criteria

The evaluation process will involve a set of test methods based on the methods and guidance in ISO 19867-1 and performance criteria informed by Technical Report ISO/TR 19867-3. The general testing/evaluation requirements are listed below. Additional evaluation criteria may be added according to the requirements of the Rwanda Standards Board.

Tier 2 cooking technologies are considered as a transition technology and may be only qualified for support and promotion by the project during the initial 2 years.

The testing and evaluation results will be communicated in private to the submitting organisation, however if the product is accepted by the project for promotion, the key performance information will be made available to the public.

The document submitted with the cooking technology must specify the source of energy to be used which should be readily available in Rwanda during project implementation and may include the following:

• Unprocessed biomass including wood
• Charcoal
• Pellets/briquettes or other types of processed biomass
• Liquid fuels
• Gas fuels
• Electricity

Domestic cooking technologies may have one or multiple burners and are expected to have adjustable (controllable) cooking power to regulate the delivery of cooking energy, and further, be able to adequately perform typical cooking tasks for rural and urban families in Rwanda. For cooking technologies that are specialized for certain cooking functions (e.g. water heating, slow cooking), the applicants must specify such functions and the relevance to Rwandan cooking practices. 

The key performance indicators which will be evaluated include: cooking power, controllability (high-to-low power turn-down ratio), fuel type(s), fuel consumption (system efficiency), emissions of particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO), and separate safety and durability scores.  Cooking stoves fitted with a chimney to carry emissions outside the building will be assessed for fugitive PM2.5 and CO emissions (leakage into the home) during typical patterns of use, instead of total emissions. 

Application Process

• • Fill in the application form in Attachment (Download)
  • The application form should contain a short background statement about the applicant (individual, organization, institutions, company, etc.), relevant experience (especially ones relevant to clean cooking solution development and dissemination), interest in the clean stove market in Rwanda, and a description of the product(s) including characteristics and how they may serve the needs of the Rwandan market/consumers.
  • Interested applicants should then send their application form to ECDL by email to urutagarama@edcl.reg.rw and copy to apniyibizi@edcl.reg.rw. The application form is attached to this invitation and may also be downloaded from www.reg.rw.
  • Applicants whose application has passed the initial screening will be contacted for information on how to proceed, including the logistics for sending their product(s) to the testing centre and signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Technical drawing will be required for the product(s) tested to be eligible for the program.
  • For every cooking technology invited, applicants should send 3 (three) units for evaluation, with the required fuel if the fuel is specialised.
  • Applicants shall cover all costs incurred to transport the stoves to the Rwanda Standards Board’s Headquarters located at: 

Kigali-Kicukiro,
P.O Box: 7099
KK 15 Rd, 49
Tel: +250 0788303492
Email: info@rsb.gov.rw

Arriving applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis

Felix GAKUBA

Managing Director