Developing new solutions and building capacity to unlock the potential of solar thermal in East Africa

4f544269-8c18-469e-aefa-4ac1e911b044

Active

Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK
Innovate UK

£1,636,830

March 31, 2023

March 31, 2025

Solar thermal technology has the potential to drastically reduce dependence on fossil and biomass fuels to meet heating demand in sub-Sahara Africa. Harnessing Africa's abundant solar radiation with solar thermal will reduce end user energy costs, lower the demand on grid, decrease deforestation, while improving energy security and lowering carbon emissions. The current low penetration of solar thermal technology in Africa, however, is due to:

* High system cost
* Difficult transportation of components
* Complex installation
* Shortage of skilled installers

This project aims to address key barriers which have prevented the adoption of solar thermal technology in sub-Sahara Africa, focusing on the following objectives:

* Design and testing of a complete low-cost solar thermal system. Our goal is to reduce system cost by approximately 40% compared to current systems available. The system will comprise of SolarisKit's flat-packable solar collectors, a new low-cost solar thermal controller compatible with high efficiency pumps, and plastic piping kit.
* Conduct extensive in-country testing of the new low-cost solar thermal system for domestic and commercial applications.
* Create a solar thermal centre of excellence at Strathmore University to train installers of solar thermal systems.

In previous work funded by Energy Catalyst 7, SolarisKit successfully developed its low-cost flat-packable solar collector, improving its performance while reducing its cost. While the collector is a core component of a solar hot water system, other components are also required contributing to its overall cost. This project focuses on developing a new low-cost solar pump controller with fuzzy logic, and plastic hydraulic piping kit to further reduce total system cost. The lower cost system is targeted at both domestic and commercial applications with in-country testing to be completed in Kenya and Rwanda.

Installation skill level is a key barrier preventing solar thermal technology reaching its potential in Africa. To address this issue, SolarisKit will partner with Strathmore Energy Research Centre to establish a centre of excellence to train technicians on the installation and maintenance of solar hot water systems. This centre will be an ideal platform to transfer knowledge from the UK to Kenya, building upon Kenya's current solar thermal capacity.

By the end of our 24 month project, we will develop a new low-cost solar thermal system suitable for the African market, create a Centre of Excellence for the Installation of Solar Thermal Systems, complete the training of 10-15 technicians, and carry out the installation of approximately 150 collectors for training and commercial pilots.