A PIONEERING solar-powered oven aimed at helping people in the Third World is being developed and tested in Malvern.

Dytecna, based at Malvern Hills Science Park, is collaborating with Oxford University on the oven, known as ‘Albedo’, which it is hoped could prove a real help to humanitarian charities working in Africa.

The oven has been designed to reach temperatures of 2,000C without the need for any fuel.

It is fully mechanical, with no electrics involved, is cheap and robust and can be completely flat-packed for easy transportation.

It has been in development at Oxford for several years and Dytecna is now playing a key role in commercialising the project and putting the prototype oven to the test.

As part of this process it turned the Forum Theatre in Grange Road, Malvern, into a testing ground as it used the powerful auditorium lighting to simulate the sun hitting the reflectors inside the oven.

Allan Merrick, general manager at Dytecna, said the next phase would be to simplify the design and manufacture a pre-production version for testing in a real world environment, with Kenya being the first demonstration site.

He said humanitarian aid agencies such as Oxfam, Medecins Sans Frontieres, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent are all potential customers and partners.

“Dytecna has found that the marriage of our expertise in manufacturing with the ingenuity and knowledge within the research teams of Oxford University has been a perfect match,” he said.

“The collaboration has proved very rewarding both in the delivery of an innovative product and development of our skills throughout the team. We have taken what was an idea into the real world commercial environment and hope to see it becoming a ‘must have’ product.

“We look forward to the next stage in the journey with the University of Oxford, taking the Albedo oven al fresco in Kenya.”