Alvarez is banking that fewer, more robust partnerships will yield economies of scale: As each distributor carries more product into stores, the overall per-unit cost of distribution will drop.

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The solar mission in its first phase focused on areas already connected to the grid and had a pricing system that bundled four units of thermal electricity with one unit of solar-based power, which reduced the average per-unit cost of solar electricity.

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For example, when the B-1A program was restarted to produce the B-1B, the per unit cost of the B-1B was three-times higher than the B-1A. Importantly, the B-1B was a modification (albeit a significant one) of the A-model and a gap of just 18 months occurred in the production line.

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"So, the permeability of reverse osmosis membrane is key to improving capacity per unit cost--or on a capex basis, " said Jeff Green, CEO of NanoH2O.

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