- Tiger Power’s propriety system “Sunfold” which is a complete solar power solution, including a storage system (battery/hydrogen) will be installed in three villages in Uganda.
- This will allow households to watch television, schools to open early and later in the day, health centres to provide round the clock services and the miller to continue to work during evening hours.
- The Ugandan Rural Electrification Agency is supporting these projects by building the distribution network to transmit the electricity to households and businesses.
Belgian renewable energy company Tiger Power is pioneering the first solar-hydrogen mini-grid project in Kyenjojo, Uganda. The project when complete, will power three villages made up of 3000 rural households and businesses.
Tiger Power’s propriety system “Sunfold” which is a complete solar power solution, including a storage system (battery/hydrogen) will be installed in each village. This will allow households to watch television, schools to open early and later in the day, health centres to provide round the clock services and the miller to continue to work during evening hours.
“We are very proud to bring this solar-hydrogen technology to Uganda. When the Sunfold generates insufficient power during cloudy days, the hydrogen generator takes over. Thanks to our technology, the Kyenjojo communities will never experience any black-out”, explains Jonathan Lambregs, Tiger Power’s Business Development Manager East Africa.
Hydrogen is the most known element in the world. “We use the surplus of solar electricity during the day to produce hydrogen. The electricity causes an electro-chemical reaction separating H20 (water) into H (hydrogen) and O (oxygen). The hydrogen gas is stored and turned into electricity when needed. In this way we can power the community without the use of a diesel generator. This means completely pollution free electricity.” explains Chris Prengels, CEO of Tiger Power.
The Ugandan Rural Electrification Agency is supporting these projects by building the distribution network to transmit the electricity to households and businesses. “The Ugandan government plans to supply 26% of its rural residents with electrical power by 2022. Currently only 10% have access to electricity in rural communities”, says Godfrey Turyahikayo, CEO of the Rural Electrification Agency of Uganda. “Partners like Tiger Power and the University of Southampton are of great help to realise our objectives”.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
