Project Gaia

What Project Gaia does

Project Gaia, Inc. is a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 and headquartered in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that promotes clean, alcohol-fueled (ethanol and methanol) cookstoves for household cooking in developing markets. Its core product is the CleanCook stove — a non-pressurized, unspillable canister-based ethanol cookstove manufactured by CleanCook Sweden AB (formerly Dometic's alcohol fuel stove division) and endorsed by Project Gaia — paired with ethanol fuel sold in pre-filled, returnable canisters and supported by small-scale ethanol microdistilleries (EMDs) capable of converting molasses, sugarcane juice, fruit waste, and other feedstocks into fuel-grade ethanol at capacities ranging from 120 liters/day to 1,000 liters/day.

The organization runs a dual-track business model. On the humanitarian side, it has been the official implementing partner of UNHCR since 2005, administering the Safe and Clean Household Energy Program across refugee camps in Ethiopia (with 100% family coverage in Jijiga's Awberre, Kebribeyah, and Sheder camps) and Kenya, distributing more than 7,000 stoves and over three million liters of ethanol to date, funded by grants from ADM Cares, the US EPA, the World Bank, Nordic Climate Facility, Shell SNEPCo, and the Ethiopian Federal EPA. On the commercial side, its Nigerian affiliate Project Gaia Prospects Limited (PGPL) is executing a 2,500-stove scale-up with Ardova Plc (formerly Forte Oil, with 450 retail outlets nationwide) in Lagos, with approximately 70,000 liters of fuel distributed monthly through Phase 1, while its Ethiopian sister organization Gaia Association operates community-owned microdistilleries, including one run by the Former Women Fuelwood Carriers Association (FWFCA) cooperative in Addis Ababa.

Project Gaia operates in 8+ countries (Ethiopia, Nigeria, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Madagascar, Brazil, India) and has received recognition including the 2008 Ashden Award, the 2010 Sustainable Biofuels Award for Adoption, and the 2012 World Bioenergy Award. Pricing is not publicly disclosed for commercial stove/fuel sales; refugee programs provide stoves and fuel free of charge through donor funding. The organization is founder-led (Executive Director Harry Stokes, Co-founder) with 11–50 employees across US, Ethiopia, and Nigeria operations.

Name

Project Gaia

Legal name

Project Gaia, Inc.

Website

https://projectgaia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Project Gaia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that promotes clean ethanol and methanol cookstoves (CleanCook stove and ethanol microdistilleries) for household cooking in developing markets, serving refugee populations through UNHCR and urban/rural households in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Haiti, India, and other countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Cookstoves

NAICS

Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing (325193)

akta.pro primary industry

Grain & Sugar-Based Ethanol Production (EUAAAHAA)

Keywords

• Clean cookstoves
• Alcohol fuel technology
• Household energy solutions
• Ethanol microdistillery
• Humanitarian energy access

Headquarters

HQ city

Gettysburg

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Commercial Stove and Fuel Sales: Project Gaia's Nigerian operations sell CleanCook ethanol stoves and pre-filled ethanol fuel canisters through Ardova's 450 retail outlets. Phase one involves 2,500 stoves with approximately 70,000 liters of fuel distributed monthly. Stoves are sold commercially and fuel is available on a commercial basis. The model aims to build a self-sustaining market for ethanol cooking fuel.
2. Humanitarian Donations and Grants: As a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Project Gaia raises funds from foundations, governments, and individuals to distribute stoves and fuel free of charge to refugee populations. Funding comes from ADM Cares, US EPA, World Bank, Nordic Climate Facility, Shell SNEPCo, Ethiopian Federal EPA, and others. UNHCR has been an implementing partner since 2005.
3. Local Ethanol Production and Sales: Community-owned microdistilleries (operated by women's cooperatives like FWFCA in Addis Ababa) produce ethanol for household cooking fuel, sold to members and surrounding communities. This creates local livelihoods and energy independence. Ethiopia produces approximately 30 million liters of ethanol annually with government support for expansion.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Project Gaia promotes clean, safe, efficient cookstoves powered by alcohol fuels (ethanol and methanol) for household cooking in developing countries. The organization implements humanitarian programs (distributing stoves and fuel free of charge to refugee populations via UNHCR) and commercial market development (selling CleanCook stoves and pre-filled ethanol fuel canisters through retail partners such as Ardova in Nigeria). Project Gaia also supports the deployment of community-owned ethanol microdistilleries that convert agricultural waste (molasses, sugarcane juice, fruit waste) into cooking fuel.

Product overview

Project Gaia promotes clean, safe, efficient cookstoves powered by alcohol fuels (ethanol and methanol). The product portfolio centers on the CleanCook Stove (manufactured by CLEANCOOK Sweden AB) as the core cooking appliance, paired with ethanol fuel sold in returnable canisters. The company also offers ethanol microdistilleries (EMDs) for small-scale local fuel production, enabling communities to produce their own cooking fuel from agricultural waste products. Complementary products include methanol cookstoves (for the India market) and ethanol-powered lanterns. The integrated solution combines stoves, fuel supply chains, and production equipment to address energy poverty in developing regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CleanCook Stove An alcohol-fueled cookstove using ethanol or methanol fuel in a non-pressurized, unspillable canister system, available in single and double burner configurations. Manufactured by CleanCook Sweden AB and endorsed by Project Gaia for household cooking in developing countries.
• Ethanol Fuel Clean-burning ethanol fuel sold in pre-filled, returnable canisters for use with CleanCook stoves. One canister holds enough fuel for one to two days of cooking for a family of five. Available through retail outlets and distributed free of charge in refugee camps.
• Ethanol Microdistillery (EMD) Small-scale ethanol production equipment that converts sugar, starch, and waste feedstocks (molasses, sugarcane juice, fruit waste, coffee husks) into bioethanol fuel. Available in capacities from 120-150 liters per day to 1,000 liters per day. Designed for community-based ownership and operation by cooperatives.
• Methanol Cookstoves Cookstoves powered by methanol fuel, developed for India's Methanol Economy initiative to transition from fossil fuels, wood, and low-grade solid fuels to clean-burning, low-carbon liquid fuel.
• BriteLyt Lantern Ethanol-powered lantern for household lighting, complementary to ethanol cookstoves and using the same fuel supply chain for combined cooking and lighting energy needs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 72.9% reduction in average PM2.5 levels in Addis Ababa households switching from kerosene/charcoal to ethanol
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Ardova Plc (formerly Forte Oil PLC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 December 2019Ardova (formerly Forte Oil) is a Nigerian energy company with over 450 retail outlets covering all 36 states of Nigeria. Ardova and PGPL are implementing a 2,500-ethanol-stove commercial scale-up. Ethanol stove fuel is available at selected Ardova retail locations in Lagos. Ardova will import stove parts from the CleanCook factory in Durban and assemble them in Lagos. The formal business launch occurred in early 2020.
• UNIKEM Industries, Ltd.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019UNIKEM is Nigeria's largest producer and importer of ethanol, supplying fuel to the PGPL-Ardova stove business. UNIKEM works with ADM to bulk-ship ethanol to Nigeria and handled logistics for the ADM donation of ethanol to Project Gaia. The collaboration with UNIKEM is described as strategic as the new stove market grows and demand for ethanol fuel increases.
• Methanol InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 September 2018The Methanol Institute supports India's Methanol Economy initiative and the methanol cookstove program in Assam, working with Project Gaia, the Government of Assam, and NITI AAYOG to assess methanol cookstove use and acceptance for a national clean cooking plan.
• Clean Cooking MadagascarminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 2017Clean Cooking Madagascar issued a request for proposals for an ethanol pilot micro distillery sized from 2,000 to 5,000 liters/day as part of a national program to scale up 100,000 ethanol stoves over five years.
• Relief, Reconstruction, and Development Organization (RRDO)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2015RRDO and Project Gaia, in partnership with UNHCR, launched a pilot study of ethanol-fueled CLEANCOOK stoves in Dadaab refugee camp, Garissa County, Kenya. CLEANCOOK Sweden AB donated 100 double burner stoves for the pilot.
• CleanCook Sweden ABcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2015CleanCook Sweden AB, a Swedish company, manufactures the CleanCook ethanol stove (formerly part of Dometic Group's alcohol fuel stove business). The stoves are sold globally in developing world markets and endorsed by Project Gaia. CleanCook donated 100 double burner stoves for the Dadaab refugee camp pilot. The stoves feature non-pressurized unspillable fuel canisters.
• Novogaz (Haiti)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2014Novogaz is a Haitian company serving as the local partner on the ground for the dissemination of clean ethanol stoves and fuel in Haiti. Working with Project Gaia, Novogaz helps commercialize the stove and fuel, revitalize local agriculture, diversify crops, and build industry.
• Nigerian National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 February 2012A Nigerian government agency launched a microdistillery and stoves project to provide sustainable ethanol fuel for household cooking, lighting, and small-scale power generation, bringing together an initial 1,000 CleanCook ethanol stoves.
• Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 November 2011Gaia Association and SEI launched the 'Fuel from Waste' project in November 2011 to demonstrate feasibility of locally produced ethanol for household cooking in Addis Ababa. SEI manages the project, conducts socioeconomic impact analysis, and coordinates the feasibility study. SEI researchers have published briefs identifying ethanol as a viable energy alternative in Ethiopia.
• Dometic ABcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 14 April 2011Dometic AB developed the CleanCook stove originally for the leisure market. In February 2015, CleanCook Sweden AB acquired Dometic's alcohol fuel stove business division. Stoves were also manufactured locally in Ethiopia and Haiti.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Project Gaia and the International Rescue Committee joined with local partners in Haiti to develop ethanol stoves and fuel both as an emergency intervention and as a longer-term development project.
• Ethiopian Federal Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Gaia Association received a grant from the Ethiopian Federal EPA to source and install three microdistilleries in rural Ethiopian communities in the Amhara, Afar, and Oromia/Addis Ababa regions. The agreement was signed December 20, 2011. The EPA also undertook the Environmental Impact Assessment for the 'Fuel from Waste' project.
• Global Alliance for Clean CookstovescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 September 2010Launched by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual 2010 Meeting. Project Gaia is the only organization actively promoting cookstoves and alcohol fuel and serves as a Global Alliance Implementing Partner, leading liquid fuels issues in the Technology and Fuels Working Group.
• International Institute for Ecological Agriculture (IIEA)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010IIEA, in collaboration with Project Gaia, hosted a seminar on Appropriate-scale Alcohol Fuel Production in Atlanta, Georgia. The 3.5-day seminar focused on small-scale alcohol fuel production and global solutions for cooking, refrigeration, electricity and transport.
• PANGEA (Partners for Euro-African Green Energy)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2010PANGEA is a nonprofit membership organization based in Brussels, Belgium, promoting sustainable African bioenergy production, investment, and policy development. Project Gaia is a member of PANGEA. Together they held events at EU Sustainable Energy Week in the European Parliament.
• UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Gaia became an official implementing partner of UNHCR in 2005 and administers the organization's Safe and Clean Household Energy Program. Gaia covers 100% of families in Eastern Ethiopia's Jijiga camps (Awberre, Kebribeyah, and Sheder) with clean stoves and fuel. The humanitarian program has distributed more than 7,000 clean cookstoves and over three million liters of ethanol. The partnership was expanded in 2016 to test and evaluate different cookstove technologies in Melkadida camp.
• Gaia Association (Ethiopia)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Gaia Association is the Ethiopian sister organization, founded as a nonprofit in 2005, that carries on work with ethanol cookstoves in Ethiopia. It manages microdistillery projects, refugee camp programs, commercial pilots, and policy work with the Ethiopian government. Project Gaia, Inc. and Gaia Association have been working together for over a decade.
• Project Gaia Prospects Limited (PGPL)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001PGPL is Project Gaia's Nigerian affiliate, a Nigerian company through which Project Gaia works in Nigeria. PGPL and Ardova are implementing the 2,500-ethanol-stove commercial scale-up in Lagos. Joe Obueh serves as Executive Director of PGPL.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• CleanCook Sweden AB: Swedish manufacturer of the CleanCook alcohol fuel stove that Project Gaia promotes. CleanCook is the OEM partner supplying stoves for both humanitarian distribution and commercial scale-up, making it the most directly comparable hardware peer.
• BURN Manufacturing: Kenya-based clean cookstove manufacturer and distributor with a similar mission of replacing biomass cooking fuels in East Africa. BURN competes in the same household energy access space with biomass and improved stoves, comparable end-user base, and East Africa geographic overlap.
• Envirofit International: US-based social enterprise designing, manufacturing, and distributing clean cookstoves across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Envirofit addresses the same indoor air pollution and energy poverty problems with biomass and fuel-efficient stoves, comparable distribution model, and global developing-country focus.
• EcoZoom: Clean cookstove company selling biomass and fuel-efficient stoves in developing markets across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. EcoZoom competes for the same household cooking wallet with a similar social-impact distribution model.
• Sistema.bio: Mexico/Kenya-based social enterprise providing biogas digesters that produce clean cooking gas and biofertilizer for smallholder farmers. Sistema.bio targets the same rural cooking energy market as Project Gaia's microdistillery model but uses biogas rather than ethanol as the fuel pathway.
• BioLite: US-based clean energy company producing biomass cookstoves with thermoelectric generation, plus solar lighting products for off-grid households. BioLite targets the same energy access and clean cooking customers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with a hardware-and-fuel integrated model.

Broad incumbents

• d.light (formerly Greenlight Planet): Global pay-as-you-go solar energy company serving off-grid households with lighting, phone charging, and increasingly cooking-adjacent appliances. While not a direct alcohol-fuel competitor, d.light competes for the same household energy wallet and partners with similar humanitarian and last-mile distribution networks.

Emerging players

• ATEC* International: Cambodia-headquartered biogas and clean cooking company deploying low-cost biodigesters and cookstoves across South and Southeast Asia. ATEC overlaps with Project Gaia's microdistillery concept by producing distributed clean cooking fuel from agricultural waste for rural communities.

Others

• POET: One of the world's largest grain ethanol producers and a Project Gaia partner that donated ethanol to catalyze the Haiti market. POET sits upstream as an ethanol feedstock supplier and strategic partner rather than a direct cooking-fuel competitor.
• Shell Foundation: UK-based charity funded by Shell that backs clean cooking and energy access enterprises, including via Shell SNEPCo's partnership with Project Gaia. Shell Foundation operates as a funder/incubator in the clean cooking ecosystem rather than a direct stove or fuel competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubevimeo.com/projectgaia
• Facebookfacebook.com/projectgaia
• Xx.com/Project_Gaia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stokes-consulting-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Project Gaia