Sub-Saharan Africa

Solar energy has many strengths, and impactful characteristics witnessed at varying levels around the world. While homes and industries in the western sphere are using solar power to diversify their current energy sources and add some renewable to their existing mix, families and entire communities across Africa are using much smaller solar systems to get electricity in their homes for the first time. That vast gap is noticeable in every aspect of life, including education, income, health, and more. Solar energy already has life-changing effects when looking to bridge gaps between developed and developing countries.

A business based at a Namibian mine has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement which will back the construction of a 5.4MW solar project. Elsewhere, the AfDB wants to roll-out solar panels to provide electricity access to six million people across six nations over the next six years.

Solar modules from Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, and Felicity Solar were tested in a prototype of a photovoltaic-thermal collector that uses excess heat from the PV elements to heat water. The system uses a thermally insulated helical coil heat exchanger to recover panel heat and a solenoid valve to allow water recirculation when the temperature below the PV module rises significantly.

Madagascar-based Filatex has invested €10 million in French flywheel storage system manufacturer Energiestro. The two companies are planning to deploy Energiestro’s flywheel storage solutions across Madagascar and Mauritius

Fusion Fuel Green has developed a small PEM electrolyzer that will be used in a green hydrogen project in Iberia. Elsewhere, India’s Adani Group and Canada-based PEM fuel cell producer Ballard Power Systems have signed a memorandum of understanding to evaluate a joint investment in the commercialization of hydrogen fuel cells for mobility and industrial applications in India.

The tender was launched by local utility Cote d’Ivoire Energies. The 20 MW will be located on a water reservoir at the Kossou dam, in the center of Ivory Coast.

Magnora will almost double its clean power portfolio in South Africa with the acquisition of a 92% stake in African Green Ventures. With the latter’s management team to hold the remaining shares in the business, Magnora has not revealed how much the acquisition will cost nor how the deal will be structured.

As research into non-rare metal catalysts continues, companies in northwest Europe are working on an offshore green hydrogen demonstration project, the first European data center to run on green hydrogen, and on hydrogen-based solutions for container transport. Meanwhile, European institutions are prepping for stronger hydrogen collaboration with Africa.

An initial intent to commission 28 local solar-plus-storage networks has now been stated as comprising “around 20” mini-grids, with delivery expected this year, rather than by the middle of the year.