Post date: Aug 27, 2011 7:30:40 PM
08.27.11 | Jeff Buderer | Arcosanti - In July I had a chance to go to Berkeley and participate in a workshop on Gasification that was organized by a company called All Power Systems while I was on vacation. I did not know what to expect. Only that I was intrigued by this idea that I could buy a gasification system that could generate power from wood or woody biomass for less than 2000 dollars. So I set off from Arcosanti with the Bay Area as my destination. When I finally found the place I realized they were "burners" (people who dont just go to Burning Man but live the life). So what started as an shade tree experiment with making gasifiers has grown into a small progressive/socially conscious business that employes 15 people and contributes to the local economy.
One aspect about All Power Systems that interested me was that it was being organized in an open source way meaning that the business was not organized along a traditional Intellectual Property (IP) model. This is potentially one aspect of a Corporate B business model that is a hybrid nonprofit/for profit. Another way of saying it is a for profit corporation with a strong social mission and a bylaw structure to support more socially conscious decisionmaking. In relation to IP, there is some awareness that copyright, patent and trademark reform is needed so that the structure of the biz is not so much focused on IP but rather developing solutions that are innovative and community based that also generate revenue. Their Open Source business model is one in which they share the blueprints and the instructions for developing the technology on a wiki and through discussion groups with a community of in this case gasification enthusiasts. This included over 250 GEK units that have been sold since their started and are deployed around the world. The people that purchase these systems are encouraged to provide feedback and share information about their systems including and how they are using them in the field.
All Power Systems has made the focus of its current business model the Gasifier Experimenters Kit (GEK). They offer a variety of choices in terms of their business/revenue model and the products they offer:
Comprehensive wiki & discussion group to design and build your own GEK
Build your GEK with all the parts in a kit.
Turn key power pallets available in 10&20kw systems
Consulting to develop larger systems
Jim the founder did a pretty good job explaining the process and theory behind gasification Saturday morning. After that they/we broke up into 4 different groups observing and also participating in some cases in the various projects they featured during the workshop.
The four groups included:
Testing out a 10kw GEK power pallet
Construction of 20kw GEK power pallet that was a prototype
Several GEKers were welding their stage III DIY GEK systems that that they bought along with their workshop experience
Testing the Biochar Experimenters Kit (BEK)