Stower™ Receives Patents for Humanity Honorable Mention

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (April 30, 2015) -- The U.S. Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the latest winners of the 2015 Patents for Humanity program. Stower™, a start-up company dedicated to alternative energy technology, received a highly coveted honorable mention in the energy category that focused on its technology that converts excess heat energy from cooking stoves into electricity. This technology will decrease the cost of energy access for those living in off-grid regions of the world.

“As innovation and economic progress have made the world increasingly connected, more and more industries are realizing that their technologies can improve lives everywhere,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Michelle K. Lee.

The Patents for Humanity program was launched by the USPTO in February 2012 as part of an Obama administration initiative promoting game-changing innovations to solve long-standing development challenges. The Patents for Humanity Award is the top award for applicant’s best representing the Patents for Humanity principles. 

“This recognition is unexpected for a company like ours, and it’s exciting and humbling to be listed beside a group as dynamic as Sunpower,” said Andrew Byrnes, CEO of Stower. “We are fully invested in what we are doing here – introducing electricity to whole communities for the first time and doing it sustainably and economically. It gives me hope to see others who think the same way.” 

Stower received the runner-up award just behind SunPower Corp - for providing rechargeable lanterns as a safer alternative to kerosene lamps in Philippine villages, via shipping containers converted into portable, solar-powered energy stations. 

In addition to being recognized for their work, winners and honorable mentions will receive accelerated processing of select matters at the USPTO. You can see the official submission for Stower here.  

About Stower™

Founded in 2013, Stowe is dedicated to delivering power from renewable, alternative sources. Using technology such as thermoelectric generators, Stower sees a future where personal power is generated by a vast array of distributed energy sources, not massive power grids. Stower’s first product, the lightweight, compact FlameStower, powers personal electronics from any heat source. To learn more about Stower, visit www.flamestower.com.