Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) that make use of the energy given off by soil microbes are amongst the technologies that hold promise for bringing power to developing states, where electricity is often scarce.

The cells also form part of a project that has just won a grant of almost 200,000 dollars in the 'Development Marketplace' competition, for which results were announced at 'Lighting Africa 2008' this May 5-8 conference took place in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. The project, developed by six students at Harvard University in the United States, was one of 16 winners selected fro m 52 finalists competing to bring innovative lighting products to the 74 percent of Africans without access to electricity.

The Development Marketplace competition was held under the 'Lighting Africa' campaign, launched towards the end of last year by the World Bank Group. Lighting Africa aims to provide 250 million people on the continent with safe, reliable and economical lighting products and energy services that do not make use of fossil fuels, by 2030.

The Harvard students, four of whom come from Africa, have created Lebone Solutions to deliver low-cost energy using microbial fuel cells. Their grant will be matched by private industry.

South African Hugo Van Vuuren, founder and managing partner of Lebone, says the cells are very simple to make and can be built locally. He sat down with IPS environment correspondent Stephen Leahy to chat about the grant soon after the results of the competition were announced.