Aprovecho Research Center

What Aprovecho Research Center does

Aprovecho Research Center (ARC), founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cottage Grove, Oregon, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization specializing in the design, testing, and capacity building of biomass cookstoves and heating stoves. ARC creates open-source stove technologies including the Lorena stove (1980s), rocket stove (1990s), Laboratory Emissions Monitoring Systems (LEMS, deployed at 67+ labs and 30+ Regional Testing and Knowledge Centers globally), and forced-air injection combustion systems such as the Jet-Flame. Core operations span iterative prototyping under emissions hoods, ISO-standardized thermal efficiency and emissions testing (PM2.5, CO, CO2, Black Carbon), and field validation across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Name

Aprovecho Research Center

Legal name

Aprovecho Research Center

Website

https://aprovecho.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Aprovecho Research Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1976 that designs, tests, and distributes open-source biomass cookstove and heating-stove technologies, operating a global network of 30+ Regional Testing and Knowledge Centers for clean cooking capacity building.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Cooking Research and Testing Equipment

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138)

SIC

Laboratory Analytical Instruments (3826), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Stack/Source Emissions Testing & CEMS Support (EUAHACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Biomass Combustion & Boiler Island Technology (Grates, Fluidized Bed, Burners) (EUAAAGAG), Emissions Control & Flue Gas Cleanup for Biomass Heat/Power (SCR/SNCR, ESP/Baghouse) (EUAAAGAK), Air & Aerosol Monitoring (Bioaerosols, Mold, Yeast, Airborne Pathogens) (AFALAEAD)

Keywords

• Biomass cookstove testing
• Emissions monitoring equipment
• Clean cooking research
• Stove design consulting
• Capacity building services

Headquarters

HQ city

Cottage Grove

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Emissions Testing Equipment Sales: ARC manufactures and sells the Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS) and related emissions testing equipment to cookstove laboratories, universities, and testing centers worldwide. Over 100 emission boxes sold. Revenue is one-time equipment sales.
2. Jet-Flame Sales: The Jet-Flame forced air injection device is manufactured by Shengzhou Stove Manufacturer (SSM) and sold commercially. ARC partnered with Global Health Labs for worldwide sample distribution. Single unit price approximately $11.
3. Consulting and Capacity Building Services: ARC provides fee-for-service consulting, on-site training, and capacity building for organizations designing, testing, and deploying biomass cookstoves. Services include stove testing, design support, and training for RTKC staff globally.
4. Lab and Field Testing Services: ARC offers laboratory and field testing services for cookstove performance evaluation, including ISO-standardized tests, CCT (Controlled Cooking Tests), KPTs (Kitchen Performance Tests), and UCETs (Uncontrolled Cooking Efficiency Tests).
5. ASAT Inc. Commercial Products: ASAT Inc. is the for-profit arm of ARC that commercializes EPA SBIR-funded inventions including the Integrated Stove (featuring Jet-Flame, thermoelectric generator, and electrostatic precipitator), targeting carbon credit markets and premium clean cooking consumers.
6. Government and Foundation Grants: ARC receives grant funding from sources including US DOE ($2.5M grant to OSU and ARC team for cordwood heating stove design), The Osprey Foundation ($50,000 for climate and biomass combustion research), and EPA SBIR grants supporting product development. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, grants form a significant revenue component.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Aprovecho Research Center designs, tests, and disseminates open-source biomass cookstove technologies and emissions monitoring equipment. Its core commercial offerings include the Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS), the Jet-Flame forced air injection combustion device, and integrated clean-cooking stove systems, complemented by fee-for-service lab/field testing, design consulting, and capacity building training for laboratories, manufacturers, and NGOs worldwide.

Product overview

Aprovecho Research Center offers a portfolio of open-source biomass cookstove technologies and emissions testing equipment. The core offerings include the Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS) for emissions testing, the Jet-Flame forced air injection device, and various stove designs (Rocket Stoves and TLUDs). These integrate with add-on components including the Winiarski Stove Top, Concentrator Rings, Static Mixers, and Auto Dampers to improve heat transfer and combustion efficiency. The company also provides testing services, stove design consulting, and publishes the comprehensive 'Clean Burning Biomass Cookstoves' manual. The Integrated Stove combines Jet-Flame, thermoelectric generator, and electrostatic precipitator into a complete clean-burning system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS) Emissions testing equipment that measures thermal efficiency and emission rates of PM2.5, CO, CO2, and Black Carbon from biomass cookstoves. Sold to laboratories and Regional Testing and Knowledge Centers for stove performance characterization.
• Jet-Flame Forced Air Injection Device Forced air injection device that shoots primary-air-only jets into the bottom of a biomass fire to improve combustion efficiency and reduce PM2.5 and CO emissions. Costs approximately $11 per unit. Developed with Global Health Labs funding and manufactured by SSM.
• Integrated Stove Complete clean-cooking stove system combining the Jet-Flame, an air cooled thermoelectric generator, and an electrostatic precipitator for improved combustion, on-device power generation, and post-combustion particulate reduction.
• Lab and Field Testing Services Professional testing services for cookstoves including ISO 19867 thermal efficiency testing, emissions measurements, Controlled Cooking Tests (CCT), Kitchen Performance Tests (KPT), Uncontrolled Cooking Efficiency Tests (UCET), and capacity building support for organizations worldwide.
• Stove Design and Manufacturing Support Technical consulting and training services for iterative experimental design of cooking and heating stoves through rapid prototyping and emissions measurements. Supports stove manufacturers in improving combustion efficiency and emissions performance.
• Consulting and Capacity Building Fee-for-service consulting and on-site training engagements for organizations designing, testing, and deploying biomass cookstoves, including Stoves 101 crash courses, RTKC staff training, and emissions lab setup support in countries including Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, Bolivia, and Haiti.
• Clean Burning Biomass Cookstoves (Publication) Comprehensive open-source textbook/manual on clean burning biomass cookstoves covering combustion principles, testing methods, and design recommendations. Free PDF download available.
• Rocket Stove (Open-Source Design) Open-source biomass cookstove design featuring a short chimney and associated design principles. Demonstrates approximately 50% higher fuel efficiency compared to open fires. CAD drawings and methodology freely available.
• TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft) Stove Biomass cookstove where fuel is lit from the top and air flows upward through the fuel bed, transporting wood gas into hot charcoal and flame. Available in natural draft and forced-draft variants achieving ISO Tier 5 thermal efficiency ratings with Winiarski stovetop modifications.

Quantifiable outcome

• ~50% fuel savings vs open fire
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, minor and core.

• Tango Energy (Tanzania)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Tango Energy is a stove manufacturer in Tanzania that ARC has partnered with on collaborative stove design. In a four-nation design collaboration (with SSM China, OffgridSun Italy, and ARC), the team designed a stove specifically for Tanzania's cooking needs at SSM's facility in China. ARC has also helped Tango Energy establish a LEMS testing lab.
• OffgridSun (Italy)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Italian clean cooking company that participated in the four-nation stove design collaboration with SSM (China), Tango Energy (Tanzania), and ARC at SSM's facility in Shengzhou, China. The week-long in-person design session resulted in a streamlined stove design for Tanzania.
• Tanzania Bureau of StandardssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025ARC helped set up a LEMS at the Tanzania Bureau of Standards to support the country's plans to set minimum standards for biomass stoves on the market. Goal is to ensure more clean and efficient stoves are sold in Tanzania.
• CSIR-Ghana (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ARC's Jaden Berger visited CSIR-Ghana for capacity building training on field testing using sensor suites (KPTs, PEMS, IAP meters, UCETs). Testing was conducted at a 3,000-student boarding school in Accra. ARC continues to work with CSIR to finalize a CAD model and begin prototype development for improved palm kernel and wood stoves.
• Iowa State UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024ARC research has longstanding ties to Iowa State University. Dr. Nordica MacCarty holds her MS and PhD from ISU's Mechanical Engineering department. Dean Still and K.M. Bryden co-authored rocket stove research published with ISU's Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2001.
• Laboratoire de Biomasse et de Cuisson Propre et Économe (CPC) - BoliviasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Regional Testing and Knowledge Center at Universidad del Burundi in La Paz, Bolivia (3,650m altitude). ARC's Sam Bentson traveled to CPC to help set up the LEMS emissions hood and train staff in French. CPC performs stove testing at high altitude conditions, with atmospheric pressure 20Hg vs. ARC's 30Hg at sea level.
• Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratorysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020LBNL served as an independent testing partner for ARC stove designs, including the Harris TLUD testing that achieved the lowest recorded natural draft PM2.5 score of 0.7 mg/minute. LBNL co-sponsored the Wood Heater Design Challenge alongside DOE BETO and Brookhaven National Lab.
• Oregon State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015ARC and OSU maintain a deeply integrated partnership. Executive Director Dr. Nordica MacCarty is Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at OSU. ARC campus hosts OSU's humanitarian engineering program. ARC and OSU jointly received a $2.5M DOE grant to design cleaner cordwood heating stoves. Dean Still continues as Research Director. The organizations share staff, facilities, and research missions.
• Clean Cooking AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015The Clean Cooking Alliance (formerly Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves) initially funded the creation of many Regional Testing and Knowledge Centers. CCA lists 38 RTKCs and references ARC's open-source testing methodologies. ARC's work supports CCA's mission to save lives by creating a thriving global market for clean and efficient household cooking solutions.
• Shengzhou Stove Manufacturer (SSM)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2015SSM in Shengzhou, China is ARC's primary manufacturing partner, producing the Jet-Flame, forced-draft TLUDs, Winiarski stovetops, institutional stoves, and other ARC-designed products. SSM hosts international design collaborations and manufactures at scale for worldwide distribution. ARC researchers travel to SSM for joint design work.
• Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015BNL co-sponsored the DOE Wood Heater Design Challenge and hosted the testing phase of the competition at their facility in Upton, New York. BNL collaborated with DOE BETO, LBNL, and Alliance for Green Heat on the challenge.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Burn Manufacturing: Burn Manufacturing designs, manufactures, and distributes improved biomass and ethanol cookstoves across East Africa. It is a direct peer to ARC: both operate in the improved cookstove ecosystem, and Burn explicitly credits ARC's open-source research and training as foundational to its existence, with the companies collaborating through the ETHOS network.
• Envirofit International: Envirofit designs and distributes improved biomass cookstoves and fuels across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It is a direct peer to ARC as a commercial scaled cookstove company that also invests in emissions testing and clean cooking impact measurement in the same developing-country markets ARC serves through its RTKC network.
• Berkeley Air Monitoring Group: Berkeley Air provides household air pollution and cookstove performance monitoring services and equipment, including field testing tools used by the clean cooking sector. It is directly comparable to ARC because both organizations perform stove emissions and efficiency testing, train labs in developing countries, and serve the same NGO, government, and manufacturer customers.

Emerging players

• Sistema.bio: Sistema.bio manufactures and finances anaerobic biodigesters and clean cooking systems for smallholder farmers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. It is an emerging peer that overlaps with ARC's clean cooking mission and shares the same end-customer base of smallholder households, but addresses cooking energy via biogas rather than improved biomass combustion.
• ATEC Biodigesters: ATEC designs and distributes low-cost biodigesters and clean cooking appliances across Cambodia, Vietnam, and East Africa. It is an emerging peer to ARC's clean cooking focus, serving a similar smallholder end-customer but with a biogas rather than improved biomass technology approach.
• Inyenyeri: Inyenyeri distributes improved cookstoves and biomass pellets to Rwandan households on a fuel-as-a-service basis. It is an emerging player that competes in ARC's target customer segment (rural African cookstove users) but with a pellet-fuel model and pay-as-you-go commercial structure that ARC has not pursued.

Others

• Clean Cooking Alliance: The Clean Cooking Alliance (formerly Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves) is a UN Foundation-hosted convener and funder for the clean cooking sector, which initially funded the creation of ARC's RTKC network. It is an ecosystem orchestrator and partner rather than a direct competitor, but shares ARC's mission of advancing clean cooking adoption and references ARC's testing methodologies as sector standards.
• ClimateCare: ClimateCare is a B Corp that develops and manages carbon credit projects, including clean cooking initiatives that require the same emissions testing protocols ARC has built expertise around. It is a downstream buyer of the verification services and methodologies that ARC's LEMS platform enables.
• SNV Netherlands Development Organisation: SNV is a Dutch development organization that runs large-scale clean cooking and biomass energy programs in Africa and Asia. It is an ecosystem peer that shares ARC's mission and frequently partners with similar testing labs, NGOs, and cookstove manufacturers, and is a potential customer for ARC's capacity building and testing services.
• Gold Standard: Gold Standard is a leading carbon credit standards body whose methodologies for cookstove and household energy projects rely on the type of emissions testing ARC has pioneered. It is an adjacent ecosystem player that shapes demand for ARC's LEMS-based verification services without directly competing in equipment or stove manufacturing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/aprovechoresearchcenter
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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Aprovecho Research Center