Frugal Energy

New challenges, about end of life of components of energy mobile storage equipment, have appeared with the massive diffusion of numerous types of electrical and electronic products (mobile phone, solar kits, solar home systems) in BOP populations.
The market is being flooded by different types of batteries (lithium-ion, nickel-metal hydride, lead-acid) and the conditions of their usage and remanufacturing/recycling, often informal, are poorly understood and yet often inefficient and risky.
This exploratory project is related to frugal engineering. It aims at developing collaborative work between Social Sciences and Engineering Sciences researchers _ thanks to actors on the ground expertise (R&D and NGO), to implement eco-design approach of these systems and their batteries. Moreover the objective of Frugal Energy is to bring a sustainable support to local and potential remanufacturing and recycling activities.
Frugal Energy links ethnographical and eco-technological knowledge, to define "frugal life cycle" notion, taking into account developing countries specificities and with the objective of improving "design for sustainability" concept.