Congrats Jake and Eden on being selected as a top idea!

Hi Jake - great updates! Rural manufacturing and distribution are definitely key challenges but I think some of the HCD approaches will really benefit you in helping find local solutions that can be readily adopted. Interviewing local mechanics, metal workers, and other similar laborers to understand their expertise, supply chain, and barriers will really help you answer the question of how you might train and empower them to create the product themselves.

As I've thought about it more, I anticipate distribution will be most easily facilitated through existing solar manufacturers/distributors - have you looked at the prospects of having the SunSaluter sold pre-integrated into the solar panel by the manufacturer (or at least alongside as 1 single purchase, rather than an add on)? If the manufacturer can make claims about the electricity generation including the 30% gains thanks to SunSaluter they will be more likely to make more sales, and probably more than happy to purchase and package your product! Some of the most successful products are sold as a "white-label" product, and resold, often without the consumer even knowing it, while having even greater financial and social impact!

Let me know what else I can do to help brainstorm/test potential models or design additional HCD experiments!

Hey Finch - check out this other OpenIDEO project for river turbines! https://openideo.com/challenge/renewable-energy/refinement/underwater-dam-free-turbine-local-and-renewable-electricity-production-for-cold-storage-facilities