What BURN Design Lab does

BURN Design Lab (BDL) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit engineering organization founded in 2010 by Peter Scott on Vashon Island, Washington. Its core function is designing, testing, and improving cleaner-burning biomass cookstoves for households, institutions, and processors in developing regions. The product portfolio spans multiple stove architectures: charcoal stoves (Jikokoa G3 and G4 for East Africa), natural-draft rocket wood stoves (Kuniokoa), institutional stoves (Wonder Institutional Stove for Sierra Leone school feeding), specialized processors (Improved Shea Roaster for Ghana shea cooperatives, Tagata TLUD pellet stove for Burundi, Plancha/Aller stove for Guatemala, Sala Makala TLUD gasifier for DRC), and a Madagascar pressure cooker (Cocotte Minute Gasy). BDL's in-house testing laboratory, equipped with a Laboratory Emissions Monitoring System (LEMS) and combustion analyzers, supports independently validated performance metrics including 43% thermal efficiency on the Jikokoa, 67% particulate reduction on the Kuniokoa, and 90% wood-fuel savings on the Shea Roaster.

BDL operates on a hybrid revenue model. Its primary revenue stream is fee-for-service technical collaboration with in-country manufacturing partners, covering cookstove design, performance testing, biomass fuel characterization, and user research; this fee-for-service work can be subsidized 0-50% using foundation and donor funds. Manufacturing partners—Burn Manufacturing Co. (Kenya), Westwind Energy (Sierra Leone), SAYeTECH (Ghana), KTF Concept (Burundi), International Lifeline Fund (Uganda), Hands for Peacemaking Foundation (Guatemala), IMA World Health (DRC), and a Madagascar partner—handle production and retail distribution, while BDL retains the design, engineering, and testing roles. BDL is registered as a Regional Testing and Knowledge Center with the Clean Cooking Alliance and maintains a long-standing research partnership with the University of Washington Clean Cookstove Lab, originally funded by a $900,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant.

Customer segments include low-income households in East Africa, West Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia; institutional cooks and school feeding programs (notably Sierra Leone's World Food Programme-supported program serving 750,000 children); and women-led shea butter cooperatives in Ghana. Since 2010, BDL reports its designs and partner networks have reached 25 million individuals and reduced approximately 26 million etCO2, with a stated goal of reaching an additional 50 million individuals by 2035. The organization is led by Executive Director Paul Means, with co-founders Peter Scott (also founder/CEO of the related for-profit Burn Manufacturing Co.), Olivia Pendergast, Ted Clabaugh, and Director Bob Powell.

Name

BURN Design Lab

Legal name

Burn Design Lab

Website

https://burndesignlab.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

BURN Design Lab is a 501(c)(3) non-profit engineering organization founded in 2010 that designs, tests, and improves cleaner-burning biomass cookstoves and processors for households, institutions, and women-led cooperatives in developing regions across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clean Cookstove Engineering

NAICS

Heating Equipment (except Warm Air Furnaces) Manufacturing (333414)

SIC

Industrial Process Furnaces & Ovens (3567)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomass Combustion & Boiler Island Technology (Grates, Fluidized Bed, Burners) (EUAAAGAG)

Keywords

• Clean cookstove design
• Biomass cooking solutions
• Cookstove manufacturing support
• Cookstove emissions testing
• Clean cooking engineering

Headquarters

HQ city

Vashon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fee-for-Service Engineering: BDL primarily operates on a fee-for-service basis, providing technical cookstove design, testing, and manufacturing support services to partner organizations and manufacturers.
2. Foundation and Donor Support: BDL receives grants and donations from foundations and individual donors to support operations. Foundation and donor support allows BDL to sometimes offer subsidies ranging from 0-50% depending on partner needs and project alignment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

BDL designs, tests, and improves cleaner-burning biomass cookstoves (charcoal, wood, pellet, gasifier, and plancha types) for household, institutional, and commercial use in the developing world. The organization partners with in-country manufacturers to scale production locally and provides accompanying technical services including cookstove design, performance testing, biomass fuel characterization, user research, and manufacturing process support.

Product overview

BURN Design Lab is a non-profit engineering organization offering a portfolio of cleaner-burning cookstove products and technical services. The product line includes household stoves (Jikokoa charcoal stoves in G3 and G4 generations, Kuniokoa wood stove), institutional stoves (Wonder Institutional Stove for schools), and specialized processors (Improved Shea Roaster, Tagata pellet stove, Plancha stove, DRC TLUD stove, Madagascar pressure cooker). These products are complemented by manufacturing support, design services, performance testing, biomass fuel assessment, and user research services. BDL works with local manufacturers globally to develop culturally appropriate, durable, and scalable cookstove solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Jikokoa (G3) Charcoal stove designed for East African households. Features shrink-sleeve coated handles (cool to touch), dual-purpose ashtray, high-temperature alloy combustion chamber and cone deck, high-temperature ceramic wool insulation, 43% thermal efficiency, 2.5 kW heat output, and a 7.2 turn-down ratio. Manufactured and distributed by Burn Manufacturing Co. in Kenya.
• The Jikokoa (G4) Fourth generation charcoal stove for East African households with dual-purpose ashtray, high-temperature alloy combustion chamber, and cool-to-touch handles. Manufactured by Burn Manufacturing Co. at a factory near Nairobi, Kenya.
• The Kuniokoa Natural-draft rocket wood-burning stove with 37% high power efficiency. Features ashtray, high-efficiency cooktop, lightweight construction, high-alloy stainless steel feed chamber, combustion chamber and riser, fuel feed chamber swing door, and wood-support swing shelf. Developed with the University of Washington Clean Cookstove Lab.
• Wonder Institutional Stove (G3) High-efficiency institutional cookstove designed for large-scale cooking in schools and institutional settings. Achieves over 40% efficiency, practically eliminates particulate matter exposure for cooks, and reduces material costs and manufacturing complexity.
• Wonder Stoves - Household (Haja Posseh) Cleaner-burning household cookstoves including Haja Posseh (HP) Wonder Stoves available in wood and charcoal fuel variants, targeting millions of households in Sierra Leone.
• Improved Shea Roaster Shea nut roasting technology for shea butter cooperatives. Saves up to 90% wood use when using shea cake residue fuel, reduces harmful PM2.5 emissions by up to 70%, and provides more than double the thermal efficiency of traditional rotating shea nut roasters. Includes an ergonomic treadle drive mechanism for safer rotation.
• Tagata Pellet Stove Top-Lit Up-Draft (TLUD) biomass pellet stove designed for urban households in Burundi, using agricultural waste such as rice husks and coffee residues as fuel to replace charcoal.
• Plancha Stove (Aller Stove) Improved plancha-style stove manufactured in Guatemala with two-piece cooktop, steel and tile construction, and a high-efficiency combustion chamber. Reduces fuel consumption and pipes smoke outside the home.
• DRC Sala Makala Stove Top-Lit Up-Draft (TLUD) gasifier stove for the Democratic Republic of Congo developed with IMA World Health. Designed to improve thermal efficiency and reduce particulate and carbon monoxide emissions.
• Cocotte Minute Gasy Pressure Cooker Affordable pressure cooker for Madagascar adapted from local aluminum cooking pots, reducing cooking time by over 50%. Designed to address deforestation from charcoal production.
• Extended Life Stove Material research and development project to extend the lifespan of Jikokoa stoves through alternative materials including ceramics and metal alloys, addressing wear caused by severe temperature swings.
• Cookstove Factory Improvement Project (ILF, Uganda) Manufacturing capability improvement project at the International Lifeline Fund's cookstove factory in Lira, Uganda, applying Human-Centered Design to scale production from 5,000 to 15,000 stoves per month.
• N95 Decontamination Boxes Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) boxes designed to decontaminate N95 respirator masks for first responders in King County, Washington, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Cookstove Design Services New cookstove design and existing design improvement services with expertise spanning rocket stoves, plancha stoves, charcoal stoves, and gasifier stoves.
• Cookstove Performance Testing Independent cookstove testing service measuring efficiency, capacity, emissions (PM2.5, CO, and CO2), safety, and durability using LEMS and combustion analyzer equipment.
• Cookstove Manufacturing Support Technical collaboration service to strengthen product performance and production systems alongside cookstove manufacturers, including equipment selection, material selection, and production process optimization.
• Biomass Fuel Characterization & Assessment Service to determine the suitability of any biomass material for use as fuel for industrial, commercial, household, or other applications.
• User Research Planning, coordination, and execution of user research applied to cookstoves and fuels to ensure cultural appropriateness and product-market fit.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25 million individuals' lives improved since 2010
• +11 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Burn Manufacturing Co.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Separate for-profit entity established in 2015 that produces the Jikokoa and ECOA stoves. Founded by BDL founder Peter Scott. BDL works with BMC on cookstove design and improvements. BMC manufactures over 20,000 Jikokoa stoves monthly at factory near Nairobi, Kenya. The two organizations share historical roots but BDL operates independently.
• Westwind Energy (WWE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSierra Leone-based manufacturer and local partner for Wonder Institutional Stove and household Wonder Stove projects. WWE has developed manufacturing capacity of 50+ stoves per month and pending orders for thousands of stoves. Partnership aims to impact millions of households with cleaner burning cookstoves over the next decade.
• SAYeTECH LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGhana-based partner that took on full production of BDL Improved Shea Roaster as a new product line in 2023. Partnered with BDL for technology transfer and manufacturing scale-up of shea roasters in Northern Ghana.
• KTF ConceptcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen-led manufacturer in Bujumbura, Burundi producing Tagata pellet stoves. BDL supports refinement and scale-up of the stove designed to replace charcoal in urban households using agricultural waste pellets.
• International Lifeline Fund (ILF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to improve cookstove manufacturing capabilities at ILF's factory in Lira, Uganda. BDL provides expertise in cookstove design and manufacturing methods to increase production from 5,000 to 15,000 stoves per month.
• Hands for Peacemaking FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to improve the plancha-style stove manufactured in Guatemala. BDL provided engineering support for the Aller Stove project including fire brick improvements, stove pipe designs, and manufacturing facility optimization.
• IMA World HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to bring a TLUD gasifier stove (Sala Makala) to DRC. BDL working with IMA DRC to improve efficiency and reduce particulate and carbon monoxide emissions from the stove.
• Justin WimpeyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to improve the Cocotte Minute Gasy (CMG) pressure cooker design for Madagascar. BDL optimizing cooking efficiency and production processes of the affordable pressure cooker.
• University of Washington - Dept. of Mechanical EngineeringcoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing partnership with UW Clean Cookstove Lab. Funded by Department of Energy grants ($900,000). UW provides combustion, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer research expertise. BDL provides field experience and manufacturing knowledge.
• Baraka Shea ButterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in shea roaster pilot project. Baraka's production facility in northern Ghana piloting improved shea nut roasters with initial testing showing 90% wood fuel reduction.
• evanhealyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartner with Baraka and BDL on shea roaster project. Long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship and rural women's livelihoods.
• Global Shea AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting shea industry across West Africa. Partner in shea roaster project implementation.
• The Savannah Fruits CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner bringing sustainability and transparency to the shea supply chain. Part of initial 10 shea roasters pilot implementation.
• World Food ProgrammecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPlaced order for nearly 250 Wonder Institutional Stoves from Westwind Energy with funding from German government. Implementing cleaner institutional cookstoves in Sierra Leone schools.
• Cycle FabminorOthersProvided electrical equipment for N95 decontamination boxes during COVID-19 relief effort.
• Meadow CreatureminorOthersProvided sheet metal and parts for N95 decontamination boxes.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Burn Manufacturing Co. Sister for-profit entity that emerged from BDL's founder and now mass-produces the Jikokoa and ECOA stoves at a 45,000-unit/month Nairobi factory. Operates in the same clean-cookstove category and shares technology roots, though commercially focused.
• Ecozoom: Portland-based social enterprise that designs fuel-efficient biomass cookstoves (StoveTec, Vesta, SmartGas) for distribution across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Operates in the same clean-cooking category with strong brand presence.
• ATEC (African Clean Energy): Social enterprise designing and distributing biomass and biogas cookstoves with PAYGO financing in East Africa and Southeast Asia. Targets the same low-income households and works with local manufacturing partners.
• Envirofit International: US-based social enterprise that designs, manufactures, and distributes improved biomass cookstoves across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Competes directly in the same improved-biomass stove category as BDL's partners and shares the developing-world customer base.
• Worldstove: Non-profit engineering lab that designs cleaner cookstoves and works with in-country manufacturers to distribute them across the developing world. Closely mirrors BDL's R&D-only, partner-distributed model and is a near-direct functional peer.

Others

• Shell Foundation: UK-based foundation that funds and incubates social enterprises (including ATEC) in clean cooking. An active clean-cooking funder whose grant and equity capital pools shape demand for BDL's design and engineering services.
• Berkeley Air Monitoring Group: Specialized consultancy that conducts independent emissions and exposure monitoring for cookstove and household energy programs. Listed as an existing BDL technical partner; competes for the same emissions-testing contracts from funders and governments.
• MIT D-Lab: MIT-based research and education program that co-creates technologies (cookstoves, water filters, agricultural tools) with low-income communities globally. Functions as a peer R&D/design center that supplies design expertise to global development practitioners.

Emerging players

• Sistema.bio: Mexico-headquartered social enterprise providing anaerobic biogas digesters and clean cooking/biogas systems to smallholder farmers across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Competes for the same household clean-cooking wallet but with a different technology stack.

Broad incumbents

• Clean Cooking Alliance: UN Foundation-hosted public-private initiative hosted by the UN that convenes governments, donors, and companies around clean cooking. BDL is registered with the Alliance as a Regional Testing and Knowledge Center. Sets standards that BDL's cookstoves compete to meet.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BurnDesignLab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/burn-design-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BURN Design Lab