Standards Alliance Phase II Convenes Two-Day Workshop on Bioethanol Standards for Clean Cooking in Mali

In an effort to support the growth of the clean cooking market in Mali, the Standard Alliance, a partnership between the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), collaborated with Pivot Clean Energy Co. (PIVOT) and the ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) to co-host an intensive two-day workshop, “Online Capacity Building Workshop: Introduction to Bioethanol for Clean Cooking.” The fully virtual event took place on September 13 and 14.

The workshop focused on adopting international bioethanol standards and policies to support this emerging market. Further, the event served as an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the health, economic, social, and environmental benefits of bioethanol as a clean fuel. Discussions explored the importance of standards, innovative policy, civic education, and the involvement of private sector and non-governmental organizations in Mali to help catalyze development.

A total of 60 participants included private- and public-sector individuals from the U.S. and various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, with U.S. company speakers from PIVOT, U.S. Grains Council, Clean Energy Ministerial Biofuture Campaign, ASTM International, Gettysburg College, Spark + Africa Fund. Foreign participants from the Mali Agency for Domestic Energy and Rural Electrification (AMADER), the National Agency for the Development of Biofuels (ANADEB), the Malian Organization for Standardization (AMANORM), Malian Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, and KOKO Networks, also shared their perspectives on clean cooking standards, policy considerations, and sector-specific impacts.

The workshop discussions addressed:

• an overview of bioethanol as a primary cooking fuel, and its role in the cooking and transportation sector;
• existing standards and quality control, the role of regional/ national organizations, and the importance of standards and harmonization efforts;
• current market and policy opportunities, as well as fiscal incentives/penalties, and other types of government support required to deploy bioethanol cookstoves;
• adjacent sector impacts and benefits of bioethanol on gender, health, climate, and the economy;
• clean cooking financing, including barriers to up-scaling, as well as investors and companies and ongoing results-based programs; and
• case studies from KOKO Networks, a consumer climate-tech platform rapidly scaling in Kenya and India.

The event concluded with a Q&A session and in-depth panel discussion exploring the various ways international bioethanol standards can benefit health, the economy, society, and the environment, while promoting local manufacturing of clean cookstoves in Mali. Among other outcomes, several recommendations emerged from PIVOT on the possible next steps for the government of Mali to build momentum for entrepreneurs in the clean cooking industry.

The workshop is a continuation of activities ANSI has supported through the Standards Alliance to further progress in biofuel advocacy and standards development in sub-Saharan Africa in coordination with PIVOT, ANSI’s implementing partner for this capacity-building activity. PIVOT is a non-profit industry coalition that works to increase the global use of bioethanol for household energy.

The workshop agenda and presentations are available on ANSI’s website.