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

Water flow through the SMPP

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

A new working prototype of the SMPP pump is assembled for testing, October 2019. Photo: Ryan Brand
A new prototype is installed inside a testing tank for evaluation. The testing taken allows the pump to run continuously on solar energy for testing performance as well as reliability of long testing periods. Photo credit: Ryan Brand
The performance of the SMPP pump is monitored during a performance test. Live data provided from the pump, such as flow-rate and power consumption, can be analysed to assess pumping efficiency. Photo credit: Ryan Brand
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