Mumbai: Reyhan Jamalova - the 16-year-old Muslim student from Azerbaijan, is included on the list of 100 most influential and inspiring females of the world. And, the reason behind her inclusion in the coveted list is her contribution to the ongoing efforts around the world in the field of renewable energy.
Reyhan Jamalova, 16 - student and entrepreneur, Azerbaijan. Reyhan is a young entrepreneur, founder and CEO of Rainergy, a company that harvests energy from rainwater, the is how BBC introduced Reyhan.
Reyhan is one of over two dozen Muslims from equal number of Muslim and non-Muslim states who figured on BBC's list of "100 Women".
"BBC 100 Women names 100 influential and inspirational women around the world every year and shares their stories", it said.
"It's been a momentous year for women's rights around the globe, so in 2018, BBC 100 Women will reflect the trailblazing women who are using passion, indignation and anger to spark real change in the world around them", BBC said.
Ranging in age from 15 to 94, and from more than 60 countries, the BBC 100 Women 2018 list includes leaders, trailblazers and everyday heroes. Reyhan Jamalova of Azerbaijan is one of them.
Reyhan had invented a smart device to generate electric power from raindrops whe she was just 15. A 9th grade student at the Istek Lyceum in Baku, Azerbaijan, she came up with the idea for Rainergy after her father wondered: “If you can make energy from wind, why not from rain?”
Rain is one of the last unexploited energy sources in nature. When it rains, billions of liters of water can fall. That sheer volume has enormous electric potential, if tapped in the right way.
“We designed Rainergy to produce electricity from the rain, to solve the problem of energy deficiency in rainy and low income countries,” says Jamalova, whose motto is “Light up one house at a time.”
Jamalova and a friend, Zahra Gasimzade, assisted by their physics tutors, worked for four months doing calculations and developing a device to harvest energy from rainwater. The State of Azerbaijan underwrote the initial costs of building it: 34,100 Azerbaijani manats ($20,000). Rainergy has since attracted interest from other investors, in particular from India, Haaretz reported.
The 9-meter-high instrument consists of four main parts: a rainwater collector, a water tank, an electric generator and a battery.
The collector fills the reservoir with rainwater that will later flow at high speed through the generator to produce energy. The generated energy is stored in the battery, and can relieve pressure on the local power grid by providing communities with an additional source of electricity.
The team has developed two prototypes. One lights up three LED lamps while the other produces enough electricity to light 22 LED lamps for up to 50 seconds using only seven liters of rainwater. Jamalova says that underprivileged communities can use Rainergy to power items such as street lamps.
Rainergy’s competitors for renewable energy include solar panels, wind turbines and piezoelectricity (which results from subjecting some solids to mechanical stress). Most of these alternatives require substantial investment, labor, and energy or electricity experts to build and operate them, whereas the Rainergy device has a relatively simple design.
Reyhan Jamalova and a friend, Zahra Gasimzade, assisted by their physics tutors, worked for four months running calculations and developing a device to harvest energy from rainwater.
“Our model is much more efficient in comparison with similar systems,” explains Jamalova, noting that piezoelectric rain generators produce only 25 microwatts of power.
Rain-harvested energy emits 10g/kwh of CO2 during electricity production, which Jamalova claims is “very low compared to alternative energy solutions.”
Rainergy was first presented at the Global Summit of Entrepreneurship in India in November 2017. While Rainergy’s creators originally conceived of the device for regions of Azerbaijan with the heaviest rainfall, they are aiming to market it internationally – especially since, as Jamalova told Haaretz, “Azerbaijan is not a rainy country.”
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