Research & Thought Leadership
Underscore publishes research on energy coordination, distributed manufacturing infrastructure, and the systems thinking required for food manufacturers to operate profitably under unreliable grids. Our papers combine energy economics, operational resilience, and systems architecture.
The architectural blueprint for energy-resilient production in emerging markets
This flagship paper outlines Underscore's core thesis: that food manufacturer profitability in emerging markets depends on programmable energy coordination infrastructure. It examines how energy constraints destroy margins, introduces constraint-based energy scheduling as the enabling technology, models cost recovery through diesel optimisation, and presents deployment pathways across food manufacturers in 50+ cities.
The comprehensive systems framework for programmable food infrastructure. Start here to understand our approach.
Focused explorations of energy-critical challenges: diesel costs, grid reliability, energy optimisation, resilience strategies, and operational margin recovery through energy coordination.
Data, implications, and operational frameworks
An analysis of how load-shedding, grid unreliability, and diesel costs reshape production economics in African cities. Quantified impacts and mitigation strategies.
Data flows, learning transfer, and competitive advantage
Explores how operational data and learning from early deployments compound across the network, improving production efficiency and resilience in subsequent cities.
Technical and operational strategies for uninterrupted production
Technical deep-dive into production scheduling algorithms, energy storage strategies, and equipment design for maintaining output despite grid disruptions.
Economics and implementation pathways for sub-Saharan Africa
Examines how local processing of imported grains and local flour blends can reduce food import costs, stabilise supply, and build resilience against global shocks.
Hypothetical deployment models showing how our infrastructure scales in real cities. Financial projections, operational timelines, and impact modelling.
A hypothetical model of infrastructure rollout, unit economics, and impact
A proof-of-concept model for Kinshasa deployment. The case study covers initial hub setup, production scheduling optimisation, supply chain integration, and scaling to a network of microhubs. It includes financial projections, employment impact, and food security outcomes.
Quantifying how diesel costs crush margins and how energy coordination delivers cost recovery across food manufacturers.
Technical and operational solutions for maintaining production through load-shedding and grid failures.
How multiple facilities coordinate energy demand to optimise grid and diesel allocation.
Algorithms for production scheduling across energy constraints, equipment variability, and demand volatility.
How operational insights from early deployments improve efficiency and margin recovery across regions.
Financial margins, cost recovery, and competitive advantage outcomes from energy-coordinated infrastructure.
Download PDFs for deep reading on energy coordination for food manufacturers. Use for partnerships, research, or deployment planning. All papers are publicly available and designed for academics, partners, investors, and food manufacturer operators.
If you're a food manufacturer facing energy constraints, a development finance institution supporting emerging market industrial sectors, a city planner building food systems, or a systems thinker interested in infrastructure resilience, let's talk.
These papers are designed for partners. Use them to understand how energy coordination solves food manufacturer economics.