The James E. Rogers Energy Access Project at Duke was founded in 2017 to develop new, collaborative ways to meet the energy needs of some of the world’s most disadvantaged communities, without exacerbating climate change.
Jim Rogers and his wife, M.A. Rogers, established the project with an initial $1.5 million gift, matched by $750,000 from the Bass Connections Challenge fund, for a total of $2.25 million. In 2021, M.A. Rogers gave an additional $3 million to expand the program.
In partnership with Bass Connections, the James E. Rogers Energy Access Project (EAP) has supported courses, internships and Bass Connections projects that provide students with hands-on opportunities to design sustainable energy solutions for the developing world. Year-long project teams supported by the EAP have:
- Assessed the economic, political, geographic and cultural challenges to energy access in Zambia
- Developed an alkaline water electrolyzer and hydrogen storage system that can provide low-cost, clean fuel for cooking and heating
- Used satellite imagery and remote sensing data to help decision-makers expand access to electricity in developing countries
- Investigated the economic viability and resource sustainability of mini-grid-powered irrigation in Ethiopia.
Key Duke collaborators in the EAP include the Duke University Energy Initiative, the Sanford School of Public Policy, Bass Connections and the Nicholas School of the Environment.
Additional Information
Image: Wires on a street in Delhi, by T. Rob Fetter