Producing light with gravity

About 1.2 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity—representing approximately 15% of the global population. Furthermore, millions more lack a reliable power source, creating a need for other dangerous, polluting, and expensive forms of lighting, such as kerosene lamps.

This type of lamp is usually made from an empty bottle or a food tin, but using kerosene for lighting is as inefficient as it is dangerous and expensive, in addition to causing various health and environmental complications. It is estimated, for example, that about 3% of global CO2 emissions come from kerosene lamps. Furthermore, the smoke produced by the lamp can cause respiratory problems, poisoning, and even death among children, and they can also be fire hazards. Among the poorest populations, this type of lighting resource ends up being a trap, as the high price of kerosene can consume up to 30% of a family's income.

Given this scenario, the GravityLight project has created a lamp that produces light using only gravity: it is a pulley system filled with sand or rocks that generates energy through the action of gravity. It takes only a few seconds to set up, providing light for up to 20 minutes. Moreover, because it does not run on batteries, this type of lighting can be used indefinitely, which means a significant cost reduction compared to the kerosene alternative.

The GravityLight Foundation was created by a team of professionals in Kenya in partnership with Deciwatt, a UK-based company. In addition to offering this technological solution for lighting access, the foundation is also committed to donating part of its profits to support projects aimed at eliminating kerosene lamps.

In Brazil, the Um Litro de Luz project follows the same principle and is already operating in Kenya, as well as in other countries such as Honduras and Colombia.