IN SHORT
We are two students from HEC Paris, taking a double gap year to travel around the world and assess the social and economic impact of solar energy.
From March to August 2017, we will help entrepreneurs, join humanitarian initiatives, and meet populations who directly benefits from solar energy access.
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Our journey will enable us to make a documentary film, promoting our partners and increasing their visibility.
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Pascal Boncenne
Paris, France
Pascal is a 23-year old student at HEC Paris. He used to study in Lycee Henri IV in Paris, and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from La Sorbonne-Paris IV University.
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Pascal has been an intern at GE Renewable Energy (Paris), BNP Paribas USA (New York), and is currently working at Demeter Partners (Paris), a leading European Cleantech investor.
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Pascal has been holding positions of responsibility as Joint President of Club Foot HEC (soccer), and participated in a 2-month humanitarian mission in Nepal.
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Pascal is a passionate soccer fan and pretends to enjoy philosophical books.
Achille de Rauglaudre
Paris, France
Achille is a 23-year old student at HEC Paris. He used to study in Lycee Stanislas in Paris, and spent a semester at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo as part of the Global Exchange Program.
Achille has been an intern in Transaction Services at Exelmans Audit & Conseil (Paris), before joining the Audit department of Constantin & Associates (New York). He is now Private Equity intern at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners.
Achille was also a member of a 2-month humanitarian mission in Nepal.
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Achille is passionate about soccer and electronic music.
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About us
We are students at HEC Paris, taking a gap year until September 2017.
We are passionate by renewable energy, and have successfully obtained The Energy within Environmental constraints certificate from HarvardX.
“We have this handy fusion reactor in the sky called the sun, you don’t have to do anything, it just works. It shows up every day.” – Elon Musk
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SOLAR ENERGY POTENTIAL
Annual energy potential of renewable energy resources vs. total known recoverable reserves of non-renewable energy sources
source: Cleantechnica.com
THE HELIOS PROJECT
Our Role
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Help entrepreneurs and local businesses. Use our business skills and consulting to help conducting audit surveys, business plans reviews and assessing further development opportunities (i.e. mapping of potential customers, ecosystem analysis)
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Help charities and associations: Join humanitarian initiaves by volunteering in field missions and provide manual work.
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Make a documentary film (1h-2h): We will make interviews, gather advices from various local solar energy actors, and compile them in a promotion movie.
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It can be produced locally, in off-grid remoted areas, and enables to avoid conflictual energy security issues. During the next century, the development of solar energy will pave the way for rising energy access in developing country.
Additional temperature change (°C) caused by transition from coal generation to alternative technology
source: Cleantechnica.com
The global energy mix: the exemplary path until 2050/2100
The exemplary path by the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) estimates a major reduction in the use of fossil energy by the year 2100 and a substantial development and expansion of new renewable energy sources, notably solar.
The 3 great energy challenges
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According to David H. Keith, professor at Harvard, it is useful to think of three grand energy challenges:
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Energy Access: About 1.3 billion people lack access to electricity and roughly 2.5 billion can't afford to use modern cooking technology (i.e more advanced than indoor fires). The lack of access to these basic energy services is a profound impediment, and people struggle to improve their well-being. For instance, without lighting, one cannot study at night after outdoor work is done.
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Energy Security: Energy resources are geopolitical matters of prime concern. Thus, links between energy and conflict are ancient. The Romans could not have assembled their armies without an energy system that moved food and forged metals. Since the 19th century, access to Oil & Gas resources is a great source of tension, and has motivated a significant number of conflicts. Likewise, the links between nuclear energy and conflict could hardly be tighter nowadays.
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Energy and Environment: In spite of the succes of the COP 21 conference in Paris, there is still a lot to be done concerning global warming... Air pollution from energy use kills millions of people each year worldwide and shortens the lives of people in polluted cities by many years. According to David Keith, "Carbon dioxide from fossil fuel combustion is on track to change the world's climate at a pace and direction that the planet has not witnessed for perhaps 55 million years."
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So what about solar energy ?
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Solar Energy is a clean energy source, with low environmental impact
But what is the economic and social impact of the access to Solar Energy ?
This is our motivation for project Helios:
Travel around the world for 6 months, to assess the economic and social impact of the development of solar energy. We want to help entrepreneurs, join humanitarian initiatives, and meet populations who directly benefits from an access to solar energy.
Soaring PV market
source: Earth Policy Institute & Bloomberg
The HELIOS PROJECT
Achille & Pascal
Partnership
What value added will we bring to our partners?
We want to help companies, associations and small businesses to get their solar energy projects efficiently implemented. As such, we seek to establish cooperative partnerships with wide-range of collaborators:
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Energy-focused investment funds
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Renewable energy businesses with a focus on developing countries
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NGOs and associations promoting the development of renewables both at a local and regional scale
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What value added will we bring to our partners?
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Provide business and consulting skills by conducting audit surveys, business plans analysis, exploring future development opportunities and mapping potential clients
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Volunteer in manual and technical work in order to truly contribute to improve local access to energy
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Promote and increase the visibility of their projects through the broadcast of our final documentary on various social networks and amongst our other partner
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SunSawang
SunSawang is a venture from BGET providing solar electricity to Thai villages next to the Burma boarder.
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About BGET
BGET (Border Green Energy Team) is an NGO with experience training villagers in the installation and maintenance of renewable energy systems, founded by Salinee Tavaranan in 2005.
About SunSawang
BGET is currently focusing on solar technology with the transition to a new social venture, SunSawang, which will help reduce poverty in rural communities along the Thai-Burmese border.
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Its mission? To provide solar energy products & services to customers in rural Thailand.
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How? By implementing an hybrid non-profit/for-profit model, SunSawang will deliver different energy options ranging from small-scale solar products such as lanterns and phone chargers, to solar home systems with skilled service technicians, with three levels of impact:
1) Provide electricity to communities, which will increase productivity and social welfare.
2) Promote environmentally beneficial energy sources.
3) Create opportunity by training and employing local technicians.
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What’s next? At present the company needs to raise funding to supply more households and is in discussions with Engie, who is waiting for a co-investor to come on board. Salinee sees good potential to take her products and services across the border to Burma. She is also interested in offering cheaper products to increase access to energy and therefore development. 25% of SunSawang’s customers report increased earnings since they moved to solar power.
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SunSawang & The Helios Project
From March to mid-April 2017, The Helios Project will support SunSawang’s team by :
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Adjusting/updating financial models, approaching potential investors, updating business plan and investment profile, and helping to come up with exit strategies for investors.
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Being constantly involved in technical installations of solar panels and electricity grids in the villages.
We’re really excited to become part of this adventure !
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Green Trust & We Share the Power
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About GE We Share The Power
We share the power is a program managed by Antoine Desclos le Peley, that aims to reduce the consumption of energy and invest part of the savings in projects that give a better access to energy for communitiesthat are not connected to the electrical grid
About Green Trust
Green Trust is a Zambian NGO founded in 2016 by Lucy and Reynard Pieterse, which aims are:
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Introducing alternative technologies, and methods, that spur sustainable enterprise development
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Providing access to information and facilitate collaborative research in natural resource management
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Improving access to markets that realise the potential of sustainably managed natural resources
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Green Trust & The Helios Project
Lucy and Reynard are welcoming us during 6 weeks to further the Green Trust initiative. We will support on various missions, as expanding the business and scaling up the impact of the kiosk, ddeveloping sustainable agricultural applications, etc.
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We are really excited to join them!
Kids around the kiosk in Chalokwa
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Insolar
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About Insolar
Insolar is social enterprise which promotes the democratization of solar energy access in Brazil. Insolar was founded in 2005 by Henrique Drumond, and has successfully brought solar electricity to the Santa Marta favela in Rio de Janeiro, as part as Shell's #makethefuture program.
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In March 2017, the #makethefuture program will come to an end and Insolar will then become a regular unsubsidized start-up, facing up new challenges.
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Insolar & The Helios Project
Henrique's new goal is to sell competitive solar energy installations to businesses and industrials in Rio while developing 0-profit projects in the favelas.
The Helios Project will join Henrique in his mission, and help the development of the new Insolar in all possible ways!
Sponsorship
In order to carry out our project in different regions and countries, we’ve established an estimated budget of what would cost us these 6-months in Asia, Africa and South America. Our final budget would amount to €10,000 and breaks down as follows:
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Travel: €5,000
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Food and accomodation: €4,500
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Equipments (including video camera): €500
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What counterparts will we offer to our sponsors?
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Mention our sponsor in our final documentary and report
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Promote brand and image in developing coutries
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Establish connections between sponsors and local actors
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Crowdfunding
If you are willing to help as an individual, we also created a crowdfunding platform. All contributors will have their names mentioned in our report and video documentary.
Every contribution matters for us !
The Helios Project is proud to announce the support of Synergie Solaire!
Synergie Solaire is an endowment fund supporting electrification projects, alongside NGOs and experts of the renewable energy industry, to tackle energy poverty.
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Many thanks to Hélène Demaegdt, who has always supported us, and introduced the Helios Project to several actors from the solar energy industry.
NEWS
