The LBNL Institute for Globally Transformative Technologies (LIGTT)

February 3, 2012

The Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is establishing the new LBNL Institute for Globally Transformative Technologies (LIGTT) to close the innovation gap for developing countries and create a pipeline of demand-driven technologies in the key areas for international development, including fuel-efficient cook-stoves, safe drinking water and access to electricity. These technologies will fight global poverty in an environmentally sustainable way by matching Berkeley Lab’s advanced research capabilities in affordable, low-carbon solutions with the needs of developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, home to the vast majority of people living on less than $1.25 per day. Through locally appropriate business models, the Institute will work with carefully selected partners to deploy these technology solutions and bridge the gulf between their invention in the lab and their arrival in the marketplace.

Through our existing partners (WaterHealth International, Oxfam America and Darfur Stoves Project), LBNL’s technologies are active in eight countries in Asia and Africa. These organizations are excited about new opportunities to partner with LIGTT to deploy critical new technologies to the developing world.

Ashok Gadgil, Director of the Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, answers some questions about LIGTT. Read the interview.