PowerPath aims to open up a new, power infrastructure development path for rural Africa, specifically in Northern Madagascar, by developing and demonstrating a set of technologies, and social and business model innovations, that will be served by the emergence of a new electrification model named "Lateral Electrification."
The ambition of this new model, powered by renewable energies, information and communication technology (ICT), and local entrepreneurship, is to overcome the shortcomings of the two current, rural electrification models in use on the continent: one being the building and operation of conventional, alternating current (AC) grid solutions, including national grid extensions, microgrids and minigrids; and the other being the manufacture and distribution of individual power solutions such as solar home systems, solar kits and diesel generators.
The main objective of PowerPath is the development of key enabling technologies to implement this new electrification model, including:
- Smart, direct current (DC) to DC power conversion technologies which will interconnect several solar nanogrids and optimise energy sharing between them, while ensuring the overall stability of the so-formed DC microgrid
- Improved state-of-charge estimation methods for lead-acid solar batteries, to improve their charge/discharge management and increase their lifetime
- Innovative, low-cost, solar coatings materials that will enable optimal output/yield of solar photovoltaic modules
- Tailored internet of things (IoT) solutions to allow remote monitoring of the power infrastructures, for deployment in low-connectivity locations
The following activities will help to maximise the positive impact the PowerPath project will have on rural communities in Northern Madagascar:
- Upgrading the value proposition to end users, by progressively making new, more energy-intensive services available, thanks to the pooling of power production and storage capacity, made possible through the expansion of DC microgrids
- Development of capacity-building training for local entrepreneurs covering the technical, commercial, business model and legal aspects related to the deployment and operation of these solutions, and their roll-out to at least 5 young, local entrepreneurs
- Field-deployment in five rural villages of the Diana region, Northern Madagascar, connecting over 400 households
- Data collection from the deployment to enable analysis of lifecycle cost, and environmental and societal impacts, in order to demonstrate the advantages of the electrification model compared to conventional electrification methods
- Creation of a subsequent expansion strategy for larger-scale implementation in Madagascar and further afield