A ninth-grade Azerbaijani student has come up with an idea to develop a device that will produce energy from rainwater, aiming to solve the problem of access to energy in low-income rainy countries around the world.

Reyhan Jamalova, the creator of Rainergy, came up with the idea after her father wondered, “If you can make energy from wind, why not from rainwater?”

Fifteen-year-old Jamalova and a friend, Zahra Gasimzade, have worked for months under the guidance of their physics tutors to build a smart device that will make energy from rainwater.

Azerbaijan has supported the initial costs of project—the equivalent of US$20,000. Rainergy, whose motto is ‘Light up one house at a time’, has attracted interest from other investors, including investors from India.

The nine-meter-high (30 feet high) device has four main parts: a rainwater collector, a water tank, an electric generator, and a battery. The collector fills the tank with rainwater that then flows at a high speed through the generator to produce energy. The generated energy is stored in a battery, and can relieve pressure on the local power grid by providing communities with an additional source of electricity. The battery stores the energy so the device can be effective even when it’s not raining.

“Our model is much more efficient in comparison with similar systems,” Jamalova says.



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Rainergy’s creators aim to market the device internationally, although it was originally developed in Azerbaijan which, Jamalova says, “is not a rainy country.”

But it could be potentially used in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, where monsoon rains are abundant and parts of the population don’t have access to electricity, according to Amina Nazarli of Azernews who reported the achievement as part of the Impact Journalism Day this weekend.

“In the future, we want to create a business based on this device,” Rainergy’s Jamalova says.

The invention has landed Jamalova on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list – Industry, Manufacturing & Energy 2018.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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