LiveWire A Knowledge Note Series for the Energy & Extractives Global Practice Beyond the Last Mile: Piloting High-Efficiency, Low-Emissions Heating Technologies in Central Asia The Bottom Line: Chronic underheating is commonplace among poor households in cold-climate regions of developing countries beyond the reach of district heating and gas distribution networks. Until fuel switching is possible, high-efficiency, low-emissions (HELE) technologies offer a cost- effective, intermediate solution to meet the heating aspirations of underserved populations. Recent pilot experience in Kyrgyzstan shows that substantial benefits result from switching to HELE heating stoves, including dramatically reduced emissions, better health, and savings in household fuel expenditure. Why does this issue matter? In many cold-climate regions, chronic underheating of homes is commonplace due to energy poverty, whether caused by low disposable income or lack of access to modern energy infrastructure In cold-climate areas of Central Asia, like other high-altitude developing regions with a long winter season, suppressed demand for heating energy is significant, especially among the rural and peri-urban poor. In Kyrgyzstan—one of Central Asia’s poorest countries—only 17 percent of the country’s 1.1 million households—mainly those in the capital city of Bishkek and other major urban areas—have access to district heating. For low-income Kyrgyz communities in remote, difficult-to-reach areas beyond the end of district heating and gas distribution networks, heating options are limited. The capacity of the already strained electricity network is deteriorating, and increasing electricity use to meet recurrent power shortages for winter heating is not a viable option. Furthermore, renewable energy sources are not yet financially viable for space heating applications at the household level, while woody biomass resources are limited in these areas. In attempting to meet their space heating needs, the vast majority of Kyrgyz households have long relied on solid fuel–fired traditional stoves and simple low-pressure boilers (LPBs), both of which are highly polluting both indoors and outside. Fueled mainly by coal, wood, and dung, these stoves have a typical thermal efficiency of just 20–40 percent. Combustion and fuel inefficiencies contribute to energy poverty, in turn, aggravating the consequences of being chronically or episodically cold (Gasparrini et al. 2015). The smoke leaked from the stoves causes household air pollution (HAP), with direct links to adverse health and climate impacts. What has been the response? Until fuel switching is possible, high-efficiency, low-emissions stoves offer a cost-effective, intermediate heating solution to meet the heating aspirations of underserved populations. Recent World Bank–supported pilot programs in Central Asia have brought to market a small number of advanced high-efficiency, low-emissions (HELE) heating and cooking stoves with broad acceptance by pilot 1 participant households (World Bank 2017a). Development of a small-scale, advanced combustion technology to meet the heating aspirations of underserved households resulted from nearly a decade of international collaboration and field evaluations by similarly motivated researchers, designers, practitioners, and stove users in Mongolia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and South Africa. In Kyrgyzstan, the KG4, a crossdraft coal gasifier heating stove, was field-tested during the 2016–17 winter heating season, with positive user feedback. The combustion system is an open-source design that has been adapted for LPBs and other HELE heating stoves by practitioners in Mongolia, Tajikistan, South Africa, Russia, and Poland. How does the KG4 work? A solid fuel with a known composition can be burned quite efficiently if matched with an appropriate HELE stove architecture. By applying an understanding of advanced combustion science and industrial design principles to small- scale coal combustion, HELE heating stoves can, in theory, create the appropriate conditions for the smoke generated during initial devolatilization to be burned completely. Solid fuels do not contain inherently unburnable smoke. To complete the oxidation process for raw coal, it is Figure 1. KG4 crossdraft necessary to keep the gases created from the coal hot enough for long combustion process enough and well-mixed with an adequate supply of air. In short, the process requires an appropriate balance of time, temperature, and turbulence (World Bank 2019). The KG4 has a hopper-fed crossdraft combustor, characterized by six zones (figure 1). Once appropriately-sized raw coal fuel is loaded in the hopper (zone 1), and the hopper cover is sealed, dehydration and devolatilization begin (zone 2). The next step is semi-coking, which generates a large quantity of thick smoke (zone 3). During gasification (zone 4), smoke is “cracked� into simple gases within a bed of hot coke. The resulting coal gas is burned with secondary air in the fire chamber (zone 5). Finally, heat is transferred to the room via the heat exchanger or the cooking pot (zone 6). If the physical characteristics of the fuel, grate, and fuel depth on the lower grate are well-chosen, gravity alone will feed appropriately-sized coal into the combustion zone without user intervention. This self-feeding function is especially important to households because, in practice, once the hopper is filled and the power level set, the stove can operate safely while unattended for several hours. Under the conditions observed in the Kyrgyzstan pilot program, 10 kg of fuel permits the stove to burn the popular Kara-Keche coal unattended for 14 hours (at lowest power) or 4 hours (at high power). Coals with stronger ash or high ash content can be burned effectively, but the grate must be shaken periodically (every 2–6 hours), depending on the power level and the physical characteristics of the ash. What were the results? Households’ perceived benefits of the KG4 stove are supported by independent personal exposure measurements and laboratory burn-sequence emissions testing. 2 During the winter heating season of 2016–17, the KG4 coal gasifier stove, along with its LPB analogue, the KG5, were field-tested in 41 rural and peri-urban homes in Kyrgyzstan. Hands-on instructions in the use and maintenance of the stoves and fuel preparation were provided. User surveys, conducted by CAMP Alatoo, the local nongovernmental organization partner for the pilot, occurred 10 weeks after installation and again later in the heating season. Personal exposure to smoke for those household members who do the cooking was measured by an independent agency. User survey responses The KG4 stove was broadly accepted by the pilot participants (World Bank 2017b). The range of benefits reported included improved home comfort and convenience of stove use, savings in fuel expenditure, and markedly better family health. All pilot respondents agreed that their homes were consistently warm and more comfortable after installing the new stoves. In fact, because of the increase in thermal efficiency, fuel saving of 60 percent was possible. In practice, however, the users typically partitioned the 60 percent potential savings into reduced coal consumption (about 40 percent) and keeping a larger area of their homes (about 20 percent) consistently warmer with fewer low-temperature excursions. Some 90 percent of users reported that they spent less time starting, tending, and refueling the fire. In addition, more than 80 percent perceived a reduction of smoke leakage into the home, with the added benefit of not having to repaint the kitchen walls every few months (box 1). Box 1. Where there is fire, is there always smoke? One pilot household member from Uchbay Village in the Osh District reported in February 2017 that she (the first of several users) was accused by a meter reader from the power distribution company of “stealing electricity� for heating. The logic behind the accusation was that the house was warm with no visible smoke from the chimney or indoors, and the electricity meter had not moved. The woman reported she had not had to relight the fire since her KG4 was installed in November 2016. Although the stove burned continuously throughout the winter, she estimated that her coal consumption was down by about 1 ton during the 2016–17 winter heating season, a monetary saving of 40 percent. 3 Personal exposure monitoring Concurrent with the 2016–17 winter pilot, a Figure 2. Reduced personal exposure to PM2.5 after KG4 installation, Osh and Jalalabad, along the CASA Corridor Fresh Air program, implemented by the International Primary Care Respiratory Group PM2.5 Lower 95% CI Upper 95% CI 250 (IPCRG), measured 48-hour personal exposure to PM2.5 (from all sources) for those household 230 members responsible for cooking, in most cases, 210 PM2.5 Persoanl Exposure µg/m3 a woman, in the 30 homes that installed a KG4 190 stove in Osh and Jalalabad Districts (the 170 treatment group). The control group for 150 153 personal exposure consisted of respective 130 household members responsible for cooking in 110 20 homes that did not switch to the new stoves. 90 Fresh Air’s IPCRG team took personal exposure 83 70 measurements two months after stove 61 installation and again one year later, in the 50 winter of 2017–18. The results show the KG4 30 Control Group of 20 2 months after Winter 2017-2018 model improves indoor air quality significantly. homes stove installation In 2016–17, PM2.5 concentrations for the control group averaged 153 µg per m3. Two months after stove installation, average PM2.5 concentrations for the treatment group had fallen by an average of 70 µg per m3 (from 153 to 83 µg per m3). By the next winter, this average had declined by another 22 µg per m3 (to 61 µg per m3) (figure 2)(van Gemert 2019). Improved indoor air quality and reduced personal exposure to PM2.5, in turn, had a positive impact on the respiratory symptoms of household members. After installation, coughing, wheezing, and dyspnea disappeared for most children and adults (table 1). Table 1. Comparison of selected respiratory symptoms before and after HELE model installations KG4 installation KG5 installation Metric Before (%) After (%) Before (%) After (%) Coughing Adults 50.0 3.4 71.4 0 Children 32.8 0 53.8 0 Wheezing Adults 10.0 3.4 35.7 8.3 Children 7.7 0 7.7 0 Dyspnea Adults 40.0 0 57.1 0 Children 53.6 4.4 69.2 0 Note: The KG4 was field-tested in 30 homes in Osh and Jalalabad Districts along the CASA Corridor, while the KG5 LPB (an analogue version of the KG4) was field-tested in 11 homes in Chui District that had water-heated radiators. 4 Following installation of the KG5 LPBs in Chui, incidence of chest infections in winter among children in the 11 participant households in that district fell from 86 percent to just 13 percent, and incidence of children with more than two chest infections fell to only 1 percent, a remarkable 31 points below the baseline incidence. Frederik van Gemert, Fresh Air Program Coordinator, the Netherlands, commented that, after installation of the KG4 stoves and KG5 LPBs, “…symptoms almost all disappeared, the number of chest infections were reduced drastically, and missed school days by children were lowered tremendously.� Concurrent laboratory testing The KG4 was also laboratory tested at China Agricultural University (CAU) during the 2016–17 winter heating season to quantify PM2.5 and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions and establish the thermal efficiency during typical use. Real-time, 6-hour, cooking and heating tests were performed on the crossdraft coal combustor used in the Kyrgyz KG4 and KG5 stoves. The lab test results show that the KG4 model has a thermal efficiency of ~87 percent, compared with just 30 percent for a traditional Mongolian stove during typical use; these results are consistent with the field-testing results conducted in Tajikistan (20 percent) and Kyrgyzstan (30 percent) at low power. Per megajoule of heat energy delivered to the home, the KG4 reduces PM2.5 emissions by 99 percent while CO and black carbon (BC) emissions are reduced by 92 percent each (table 2). 5 Table 2. Stove performance comparisons Traditional KG4 crossdraft Factor Mongolian stovea gasifier Thermal efficiency (%) 30 87 PM2.5 (mg/MJNET) 794 2.3 CO (g/MJNET) 16.6 1.4 PM2.5 reduction (%) Baseline 99.7 CO reduction (%) Baseline 92 BC reduction (%) Baseline 92 Note: PM = particulate matter; CO = carbon monoxide; BC = black carbon. a. The well-characterized, traditional Mongolian heating stove was used as the baseline stove because the traditional Kyrgyzstan heating stoves are similar in construction, operation, leakage, emissions, and efficiency. Laboratory testing at China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing attempted to quantify emissions from a traditional Kyrgyzstan heating stove using various fuels; however, the emissions for coal were so high that the equipment became clogged and tests had to be abandoned after two hours. What was the design and production approach? Successful design and adaptation of the HELE stoves required intensive engagement with household users, stimulation of the industrial sector, and technical assistance for targeted producers. The HELE technology designers began by learning about Kyrgyz household consumers’ needs and perceptions, aspirations, and realities. The designers considered a range of factors that could influence potential stove users. Apart from adequate heating, key concerns included the ability to heat multiple pots of water, having adequate cooking power and control, the social status of the fuel used, and pride of ownership. Recognizing that stove user behavior might depart from laboratory testing procedures and that there would be a point of diminishing returns on performance for added costs, typical local fuel quality was an important design input, while optimum fuel particle size was an output. The chemical and physical analyses of available coals were checked, and new models were fine-tuned to accommodate the fuels households were likely to use. The KG4 was sized to heat 50–70 m2 homes where winter temperatures can fall below −30 °C. In collaboration with CAMP Alatoo, the KG4 was adapted to fit each pilot region’s available materials, producer skills, and performance requirements, which vary by altitude, cooking culture, fuel type, and traditional patterns of behavior. Great care was taken to engage with producers about consumers’ preferences, concerns, and their level of acceptance and enthusiasm for the new stoves. The designers also recognized the need to make the KG4 design “makeable� by local workshops. The question was how to retain all of the functions of the ideal prototype, while adapting it to rural Kyrgyzstan’s on-the-ground realities, including locally available materials, tools, and skills. This required the technical assistance team to make an expert assessment of the capabilities of local producers: what they could already do, what they could learn to do, and what could reliably be rolled out within the pilot timeline and later adoption in their own production. 6 All sheet-metal parts were made using a computer controlled (CNC) plasma-cutting contractor to ensure reliable dimensions and thus performance. Producers without this machine could opt to use an artisan version of the drawings with small design changes so they could perform all operations manually. Producers with plasma-cutting and metal-bending machines could make a bent-metal version, which required less welding. Presently, at least four producers located in or near the capital city of Bishkek have demonstrated the skills needed to produce the HELE stove technologies to a satisfactory standard. Some of these have invested in additional equipment to expand their production capacity. The KG4 heating stove is considered affordable for rural and peri-urban households in Kyrgyzstan. A field visit to a mountain village near Osh District shows that households that switched from a traditional solid fuel–fired heating stove to the KG4 model enjoy a net fuel expenditure savings of US$48 per month. It is expected that, in the future, repairs can be handled by Kyrgyzstan’s many artisan welding shops. The model’s new cast-iron grate is a locally manufactured, owner-replaceable part. The cast-iron top is expected to last for many years. Further product evolution and field testing continued throughout the 2017–18 winter heating season. What has been learned? The Kyrgyzstan pilot demonstrates that the science of advanced combustion and efficiency can be adapted to a defined cultural context using the production skills and materials available in the local market. Prioritizing user engagement. The design and adaptation of HELE technologies can be done successfully if it first involves an intensive engagement with users to understand the local context: their needs, preferences, living conditions, operating capabilities, and availability of competing fuels and equipment. Apart from heating services, the cooking power, duration, and frequency must be studied and characterized. In the case of rural Kyrgyzstan, this stage took about one year to complete, during which time production problems, localization, and cost issues were also addressed. Stimulating the industrial sector. A virtuous cycle of product development, test marketing, formal market expansion, cost reduction, and quality improvements can be stimulated in the industrial sector of cold-climate developing countries. In Kyrgyzstan, prototypes were developed in partnership with informal sector welders. Larger producers were attracted to participate in the pilot only after they understood the potential market and how well the products worked, which required demonstrations to convince those who believed coal could not be burned with low emissions by showing them first-hand. Producers in or near the capital city of Bishkek have demonstrated their ability to produce HELE stoves by attending pilot- supported technical training sessions and following the open source designs. Providing technical assistance for product design and development. Setting high targets for emissions, combustion, and thermal efficiency can stimulate product development. In developing countries where the research and development capacity is relatively low, technical assistance in open- source product design and development is deemed essential. Partnering international experts with local experts and producers has had, and can continue to have, profound and sustained impacts on improving local capacities. The projects involved on this journey (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Africa, Mongolia, and China) are leading by example by working closely with local partners, participating in knowledge 7 exchanges (e.g., the South-South Knowledge Exchange Event held in Beijing in April 2017), and sharing technical advances with other project teams and countries’ stakeholders. What is the way forward? Emphasizing technology innovation in the context of local culture and strengthening of local manufacturing and production capacity will help build the enabling environment needed for market development. An estimated 500 million people—about 100 million households—worldwide rely on traditional, solid fuel–fired (mainly coal) heating stoves. Most of these households are located in remote rural areas beyond the reach of district heating and gas networks, and are unlikely to be connected in the near or medium term. Under a business-as-usual scenario, the continued negative implications for the national and household economy, public health, climate, and society are significant. The HELE technologies can offer currently underserved populations a cost-effective, intermediate heating solution that could rapidly be made available at scale. If underserved households can switch to HELE heating stove technologies, the fuel savings, emissions reductions, and health benefits will be substantial, as evidenced by the independent measurements of impacts in the Kyrgyzstan winter heating pilot. Assuming that the average household currently uses 2.5 tons of coal each year, switching to the HELE heating technologies could provide annual fuel savings of 40 percent and PM2.5 and BC reductions above 90 percent and 85 percent, respectively.1 Such a switch will reduce annual emissions per household by 2.7 tons for CO2, 20.5 kg for PM2.5, and 4.7 kg for BC; switching 100 million households to the HELE technologies would mean annual reductions of 272 million tons of CO2, 2 million tons of PM2.5, and 0.46 million tons of BC. By applying design and production processes that consider the local context and making HELE technologies accessible to users, it is possible to build a local market. For this to happen, public sector support is needed for awareness-raising to accelerate adoption of HELE technologies, making the technologies affordable to the poor as part of a social support program, and upgrading local producers’ skills (e.g., design assistance; bidirectional knowledge transfer; and initial investments in prototypes, testing, casting patterns, and field installations) so they can continue to improve their services. References Gasparrini, Antonio, et al. 2015. “Mortality Risk Attributable to High and Low Ambient Temperature: A Multicountry Observational Study.� Lancet 386(9991): 369–75 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140- 6736(14)62114-0). van Gemert, Frederik, et al. Submitted. “Health Impact and Acceptability Introducing Clean Cookstoves and Heaters to Reduce Exposure to Household Air Pollution in Uganda, Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan: A FRESH AIR Study.� npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine. World Bank. 2017a. Clean Individual Heating Solutions in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Washington, DC: World Bank (http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/video/2017/06/20/clean-individual- heating-solutions-in-the-kyrgyz-republic-and-tajikistan). 1 The above assumptions have taken a conservative approach and assumed an average baseline technology better than what was observed in the Central Asia region (table 2). 8 ———. 2017b. “Project Appraisal Document of Kyrgyz Republic Heat Supply Improvement Project.� World Bank, Washington, DC (http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/292401509328823311/ df/Kyrgyz-Heat-Supply-PAD-10102017.pdf). ———. 2019. Advancing Heating Services Beyond the Last Mile: Central Asia Pilot Experience with High- Efficiency, Low-Emissions Heating Technologies. Washington, DC: World Bank. 9