India has tremendous potential as an economic powerhouse of the future, but it also faces some significant development challenges. India’s population is on track to be the world’s most populated nation by 2022, surpassing even China. Yet India also has a considerably smaller carbon footprint than China because millions of people lack access to modern energy services. If India is ever to realize its economic potential, it desperately needs to build energy infrastructure and find innovative ways of providing energy to its rapidly expanding population.
One unorthodox system for dealing with that problem is being introduced by Manoj Bhargava, the billionaire behind 5 Hour Energy drinks. His solution is bicycles. Bhargava, who was born in Lucknow in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh wants to use bicycles and pedal power as a means to help solve part of India’s electrical problems. The concept is that Indians are sold or given stationary bikes to generate free electricity using a battery attached to the bike. That battery is charged as the rider pedals the bike. Pedaling turns a generator, which in turn produces electricity that can be stored in the battery. The battery can then be removed and used to run appliances through a house. The current design of the bike provides a day’s worth of energy with only an hour of pedaling.
Generator bikes are not uncommon, but the key difference in this case is the stationary bike’s battery. Because of that battery, the turbine does not need to be constantly spinning, which in turn means you don’t need to be pedaling while cooking food or using a light. Indeed because the battery itself is removable, one obvious efficient solution is that bicycles could be shared across a community much like wells are. People could come and charge their battery then remove it making way for someone else.
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