Solar Magnetic Plunger Pump (SMPP)
Over the past five years, Comet-ME has developed a simple, reliable, low-cost solar-powered water pump, which will offer a game-changing water-delivery solution for off-grid rural farmers and communities in the Global South.
Comet-ME Solar Magnetic Plunger Pump (SMPP)
The Solar Magnetic Plunger Pump (SMPP) is a first-of-its-kind, double-action, submersible borehole piston pump designed for shallow aquifer pumping (with a pumping head in the range of 10-45 m) that can deliver 20-30 cubic meters a day, enough for irrigation of up to 1 hectare per day or for daily domestic usage for a small community.
Four key features of the SMPP make it competitive against similar products on the market:
- The SMPP’s competitive target purchase price of one-half that of leading pumps on the market will make it a desirable and affordable product for even the poorest farmers.
- Robust and very simple design, single moving part, and ease of serviceability lower the overall cost of ownership for the end-user.
- The SMPP is more reliable than centrifugal or helical pumps in the presence of sand particles in the water.
- The SMPP includes an integrated monitoring unit that provides flow data, allowing for PAYG and other remote billing schemes
For more information contact noam@comet-me.org
SMPP Technical Paper

The SMPP’s innovative design takes the ancient and proven piston pump technology and transforms it into a high-flow, robust, simple, and reliable solar pump that outdoes existing solar pumps on the market in efficiency, serviceability, operation in a high-sediment environment, and of lowest cost of ownership.
SMPP in the Media
“Submersible solar pump designed for smallholder farmers” Marie Donlon, Engineering 360 powered by GlobalSpec, November 2022
“A solar-powered irrigation pump with pay-as-you-go option,” Emiliano Bellini, PV Magazine, December 2019
Additional Resources


