Global LEAP Awards Buyer’s Guides are catalogues of best-in-class appliances and productive use equipment appropriate for use in energy-constrained settings. This edition contains information about induction cooktops named winners and finalists in the 2024-2025 Global LEAP Awards Induction Cooktops Competition.

Nearly 2.3 billion people around the world still rely on polluting fuels, such as firewood, charcoal, and kerosene, for daily cooking. This dependence has far-reaching impacts on public health, the environment, and social and economic inequalities. Modern, energy-efficient electric cooking appliances like induction cooktops offer a powerful alternative.

The 2024–2025 Induction Cooktop Competition builds on growing efforts to expand access to high-quality eCooking solutions. This Buyer’s Guide features the competition’s winners and finalists and highlights top-performing products designed for off- and weak-grid communities. It is a practical resource for market stakeholders, including investors, funders, distributors, and other commercial actors. It provides detailed product specifications, performance metrics, and sales contact information.

The 2024–2025 Induction Cooktops Competition was administered by CLASP and funded by the IKEA Foundation and UK aid from the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access platform.

Read the ‘2025 Buyer’s Guide for Induction Cooktops’ to learn more.

About the Global Leap Awards

The Global LEAP Awards—an initiative of the Efficiency for Access coalition—is an international competition that identifies and promotes the world’s best, most energy-efficient appliances and equipment intended for use in energy-constrained settings.

Larissa Lockwood, Director of Policy & Campaigns at Global Action Plan: “Homes with gas stoves can have nitrogen dioxide levels up to 400% higher than those without – this is the same type of toxic air pollution that comes from car exhausts and is linked to a range of health conditions including lung and heart disease. Transitioning from gas to electric cooking across the UK is a win-win: it will benefit public health through improving indoor air quality, as well as reducing household emissions and energy use. Today we are launching a robust policy roadmap that demonstrates how the UK can transition from gas to electric cooking by 2035, in line with Government home decarbonisation commitments and Climate Change Committee recommendations. We urge policymakers to ensure that UK households are not left behind in the transition to cleaner, safer, and more efficient cooking methods.”

Nicole Kearney, CLASP Director, Europe said: “As governments across Europe move to decarbonise heating, gas cooking remains a blind spot, a neglected source of indoor air pollution that keeps homes locked into using fossil fuels. The solution to bridge these gaps and make cleaner, healthier, and more efficient electric cooking accessible to everyone is available and ready for implementation. The UK Government should seize this opportunity and set a powerful precedent by championing an equitable transition.”

Manchester MP Afzal Khan, host of the parliamentary event, said: “Air pollution from gas cooking is linked to a range of health problems including asthma, lung and heart disease. I’m pleased to see Manchester leading locally on the transition from gas to electric cooking in social housing and demonstrating the value of electric cooking as a solution to improve air quality, boost public health, cut emissions and reduce household energy bills in the long run. We need to see action on a national scale to ensure that cooking isn’t left out of home decarbonisation efforts. Global Action Plan’s new report provides a comprehensive pathway to transition to electric cooking across the UK, and I urge the Government to review the recommendations set out within it.”

Quarterly polling by Opinium for Global Action Plan of 2,000 British adults shows that public awareness of gas cooking pollution and concern over its health, safety and environmental impacts is relatively low but has been steadily rising for years.

Some 2% of UK carbon dioxide emissions come from cooking. Phasing-out gas hobs would cut the equivalent of all of Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Sheffield’s greenhouse gas emissions combined, CLASP calculates. The government had planned to phase-out gas boilers by 2035, but has so far overlooked the need to transition away from fossil fuel cooking appliances.

Ends

Notes

[1] Burning gas in the kitchen produces levels of indoor air pollution that exceed legal outdoor limits. The World Health Organization daily limit value for nitrogen dioxide exposure was broken in about half (55%) of British homes using gas hobs and/or gas ovens measured under normal living conditions by a Dutch scientific institute. Pollution spikes lasted several hours and were more intense the longer the cooking time. No breaches in homes using electric appliances were recorded. The same institute estimated that 557,326 British children report asthma symptoms. Spanish scientists built on the Dutch research to estimate the number of premature deaths in the UK from gas cookers.

[2] Public awareness of the risks has been growing steadily and gas cooker sales are slowly declining. But they still make up around 40% of sales and gas hobs are installed in around half of all UK homes. Government polling in 2023 found that two thirds of those asked intend to replace their gas hobs. The Government recognises air pollution as the biggest environmental health risk in the UK. Cookers and heaters are the main sources of air pollution inside homes that use gas. Despite this, there is currently no legislation or policy framework in place to warn UK consumers about the risks or encourage a shift to cleaner alternatives. Unless that changes, GAP estimates that well over 1.5 million new gas hobs will be installed in this parliamentary term, based on existing sales data. Gas cookers tend to be used for around 19 years, experts say, prolonging exposure to indoor air pollution.

[3] Residents in ten Southway Housing Trust properties agreed to have their gas ovens and hobs replaced with induction hobs and electric ovens in early 2025. Some of the gas cookers had been installed decades earlier. Interviews were conducted with all ten households one week before the installation and with seven that remained in the pilot one week after the retrofit. Of these, five said the transition was very easy and one said it was easy. Before the switch, only one household thought induction was easy to use. The project was supported by Beko, B&Q and Electrolux.

Contacts

• Global Action Plan press office press@globalactionplan.org.uk
• CLASP Director, Europe Nicole Kearney (EN) +44 75 4486 5924
• CLASP Senior Communications Associate Païline Caroni (EN, FR) +32 473 127 674
• CLASP Communications Consultant Jack Hunter: jack@fthe.fr +33 7 54 54 35 48

Global Action Plan mobilises people and organisations to take action on the systems that harm us and our planet. We are an environmental charity focused on issues where the connection between the health of people and our planet is most tangible. Our current focus issues are air pollution, big tech, and the education system.

CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. An international NGO with 25 years of expertise and offices on four continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to create a more sustainable future for people and the planet. CLASP and our partners are dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing, interconnected crises: the climate emergency, poverty, inequality, and access to energy.

In a landmark year for energy policy, India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), with support from CLASP, advanced 18 appliance efficiency regulations in 2024. This is a testimony to the country’s fast-paced policymaking and strong national commitment to appliance efficiency as a key lever for climate action and energy security.

Fast-paced policymaking to meet urgent needs

As India undergoes rapid urbanization and industrial growth, the demand for appliances is surging. Left unchecked, this growth could place immense pressure on the power grid and accelerate emissions. Recognizing this, the government prioritized improvements that directly address the rising energy demand from homes, commercial spaces, and industry.

18 new policies – large emissions cuts and cost savings

CLASP advocates for appliance efficiency which ensures that everyday products from refrigerators and fans to inverters and TVs consume less energy while delivering the same or better performance. This is critical in a country like India, where millions of households are purchasing new appliances for the first time. By using higher effiicency appliances, India is building a more resilient energy system, reducing energy bills for consumers, and cutting emissions at scale.

The cumulative effect of these 2024 policies is significant. By 2030, they are expected to save over 180 terawatt hours (TWh) of electricity and avoid nearly 146 megatons (Mt) of CO₂ emissions.

Standouts include policies covering:

• Packaged boilers, commercial beverage coolers, solar inverters, and refrigerant compressors, which are collectively estimated to save 32.2 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and avoid 24 megatons (Mt) of CO₂ emissions.

• Ceiling fans, a widely used appliance that will now become more efficient, saving 35.9 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity and avoiding 29 megatons (Mt) of CO₂ emissions.

Full list of 2024 appliance policies:

• Room air conditioners (RAC) (fixed speed-split and window)

• RAC (cassette, floor standing)

• Inverter-room air conditioner

• Frost-free refrigerator

• Direct cool refrigerator

• Ceiling fan

• Color television

• Ultra High Definition (UHD) (4K) television

• Distribution transformer

• Deep freezer

• Light commercial air conditioner

• Storage water heater

• Commercial beverage cooler / visi-cooler

• Packaged boiler

• Solar inverter

• Refrigerant compressor

• LPG stove

• Microwave oven

Improving appliance efficiency across states

CLASP has also been working closely with the State Designated Agencies (SDAs) in Odisha and Kerala to support the implementation of India’s national appliance efficiency policies. By strengthening the adoption and enforcement of BEE’s Standards & Labeling program at the state level, CLASP is helping ensure that the benefits of energy-efficient appliances reach households and industries across these regions.

Aligning with CLASP’s global mission

Emissions reductions and energy savings not only bolster India’s energy security and climate goals but also resonate with CLASP’s global mission to advance appliance efficiency for people and the planet. By supporting national institutions like BEE in strengthening appliance efficiency policies, CLASP continues to catalyze transformative, long-lasting change.

Wesseler: What if the sun’s not out? Can you still run solar appliances then?

Wakoli: Yes. Solar appliances come with a little bit of energy storage, typically in the form of a battery, that allows them to keep functioning when it’s not sunny. For example, solar refrigerators keep things cool even at night.

Wesseler: That all makes sense. But why not just connect more people to the electric grid? Why focus on solar appliances instead?

Wakoli: There are a lot of reasons, but the most important is that it’s typically much more expensive to extend the power grid to far-flung places than it is to provide solar appliances. Solar appliances are more cost-effective in rural areas.

Providing solar appliances is also faster than building out the grid, which takes a long time. This is important given the urgency of the climate disaster, which we’re observing in real time, whether it’s heatwaves in India or droughts in Zambia. People need appliances that can help them adapt to climate change now.

Wesseler: What would it take to close this gap?

Wakoli: Well, we need more investment at all levels of solar appliances. We need to invest in people who can support the sector: students, researchers, manufacturers, distributors, maintenance people. Companies need money to build these appliances, to test business models, to scale. We also need money for governments to conduct awareness campaigns. People need to go into communities to let them know about these appliances and demonstrate how they work.

We also need more cross-disciplinary dialogue. Lifting people out of poverty requires more than electricity or appliances; the solution has to involve people who work in agriculture, environmental advocacy, etc. A practical example is solar water pumps, which make it easier for farmers to generate income. But productivity is not only a function of water; farmers also need good seeds, fertilizer, and good soil. So people outside the energy sector need to be involved as well.

Ultimately, we need to build a market that can exist without external support. Think of Coca-Cola. Soda is the one thing that is ubiquitous in every place I have been, even where people don’t have high incomes. Coca-Cola has figured out how to reach the last mile in countries like Kenya and India. The solar appliance sector needs to get to the same place.

Developing a self-sustaining market for solar appliances will require collaboration across governments, the private sector, and development partners. Governments need to prioritize solar appliances and other energy-efficient solutions as part of their national electrification strategies, and the appliance sector needs to build muscle in distribution and consumer awareness. What’s more, all these actors need to prioritize ensuring that solar appliances support increased productivity, driving up incomes for communities living below the poverty line.

Many critical pieces of this puzzle are currently missing. Right now, a lot of the money in the solar appliance sector comes from European governments as part of their international aid programs. But if we’re thinking about a sustainable solution for more than 50 countries and more than half a billion people, it cannot be contingent on well-wishers alone.

Interview edited and condensed.

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP 29), UK Aid (FCDO) announced a substantial extension of their Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) program. This funding boost will help accelerate the adoption of clean cooking practices and transform the lives of millions of people across Africa, Indo-Pacific, and South and Southeast Asia. CLASP looks forward to continued collaboration with MECS to expand access to clean, modern cooking solutions.

Clean cooking: Good for people and planet 

The MECS programme is speeding-up the shift to clean cooking by driving research, testing new technologies, and tracking global tools and trends. It targets the 2.1 billion people—26% of the world’s population—who still rely on polluting fuels such as firewood and charcoal for their cooking. A transition to modern, clean cooking would help eliminate the harmful effect of these fuels on income, health, and the environment and have a profound social and economic impact on communities, especially on the women and children that bear the disproportionate burden of collecting fuel and preparing food.

MECS extension powers future impact  

The MECS extension builds on the six-year success of the MECS programme in advancing the clean cooking agenda globally. To date, the programme has helped 3.8 million people adopt cleaner, more efficient cooking practices that lower fuel use, improve air quality, and boost income. It has also attracted £400 million of additional investment for clean energy innovation and published over 300 research papers. This compelling evidence base has already informed the adoption in policy of electric cooking (e-Cooking) in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Aligning with the global goals  

The MECS programme budget will increase by £44 million, raising the total value to £99 million, and pushing its work to December 2030 to align with the target dates of the Sustainable Development Goals. This extension will enable the implementing partners to continue driving even more impactful clean cooking solutions. By 2030, MECS aims to improve clean cooking access for 10 million people, leverage £1 billion in investments, publish 650 research products, and influence policy adoption in 12 countries. The MECS extension is expected to have reach across 17 countries in Africa, Indo-Pacific, and South and Southeast Asia, where clean energy transitions are urgently needed.

About CLASP

CLASP is the leading global authority with 25 years’ expertise on how applianceefficiency drives climate mitigation, adaptation, and improves the lives and livelihoodsof people. An international non-profit with offices on four continents, CLASPcollaborates with policymakers, appliance manufacturers, and leading experts todeliver sound policy recommendations, innovative tools, ground-breaking research,and clear pathways to a more sustainable world for people and the planet.