BRIGHT is thrilled and proud to announce that we have been awarded the EIC Horizon Prize for Affordable High-Tech for Humanitarian Aid in the Energy category. With this award, the EU recognizes the company’s history of solar products in the humanitarian aid sector, as well as the capacity of BRIGHT’s Move to transform the lives of refugees and internally displaced people.

BRIGHT’s Move is an out-of-the-box solution to supply light and mobile charging. With its multifunctionality, the product can be used as a wall-, table-, ceiling-light and a phone charger. On a single charge, Move can provide up to 80 hours of light.

The product is based on solar technology, replacing kerosene lamps and the need for other fossil fuels. Kerosene lamps are a health and fire risk in refugee settings and need a constant supply of fuel. Transport of goods is often a bottleneck in difficult-to-reach areas, putting enormous restraints on the types of goods to be prioritized during a humanitarian response. BRIGHT Move was developed with this challenge in mind and its compact size maximizes the number of units that can be shipped per container. It works as a personal solar power plant, allowing the user to be self-sufficient with light and charging for up to 4 years. Move provides humanitarian aid organizations the possibility to help more people, faster and safer.

Light and mobile charging capacity is essential in refugee settings. Light provides safety when walking outside at night, using the latrine or, simply, socializing. Charging of mobile phones not only enables communication with family and friends but also often serves as a platform for accessing information and other services. This is the reason why the UNHCR categorized SunBell, BRIGHT’s first solar lamp, as a Core Relief Item (CRI) in 2014. As of 2020, four of BRIGHT’s products have been categorized as CRIs and we have impacted the lives of more than 13 million of people in over 40 countries.

With Move we wanted to create a higher-capacity product that was multifunctional, compact, easy to transport, easy to use, and which could have a fast deployment time.

• BRIGHT Move is so compact that a 20-foot container can serve 25,920 families, that is 3 to 5 times more units than equivalent products.
• At the same time, it provides 2.5 times more power than other technologies like electrical grid-in-a-container solutions.
• The product is deployed without a grid infrastructure (ready for out-of-box use) and is developed and designed for ease-of-repair.

The EIC Horizon Prize for Affordable High-Tech for Humanitarian Aid, was awarded to BRIGHT CEO, Selma Kveim, at the European Research and Innovation Days on the 24th of September. With the EUR 1 million prize, BRIGHT will create a stock of Move, which can be mobilized within 72 hours to a crisis or disaster relief situation.  The funding will also be used for developing a repair program, with the goal of enhancing the lifespan of 100,000 solar products.