The UK is backing more than £2 million in clean energy investment across 10 projects in eight African countries, including Kenya. The ZE-Gen Scale-up Fund will support renewable energy and battery-storage solutions for hospitals, telecommunications, agriculture, fishing, food markets, small businesses and rural communities.
Key Overview
- More than £2 million is being invested across 10 clean energy projects.
- The projects cover eight African countries.
- Kenya will receive two projects focused on hospitals, schools and businesses.
- The programme aims to reduce reliance on diesel and other fossil-fuel generators.
- Technologies include solar power, battery storage, sodium-ion batteries and second-life EV batteries.
- The projects are moving proven technologies from pilot stages toward larger-scale deployment.
- The programme is backed by the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund.
UK Expands Clean Energy Support Across Africa
The UK is backing more than £2 million in investment across 10 clean energy projects in eight African countries as part of efforts to expand alternatives to fossil-fuel generators.
The projects are being implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Nigeria, Mozambique and Lesotho. They will target sectors where unreliable electricity can disrupt essential services and economic activity, including healthcare, telecommunications, agriculture, food production, fishing and small businesses.
The initiative is being delivered through the ZE-Gen Scale-up Fund and supported by the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund through the Transforming Energy Access platform.
The projects build on earlier UK-backed programmes that helped companies develop and test clean energy technologies, including ZE-Gen, Energy Catalyst and Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities.
Kenya to Receive Two Clean Energy Projects
Kenya is among the eight beneficiary countries and will receive two projects focused on reducing reliance on diesel generators.
Acele Africa will deploy locally designed and assembled modular battery systems for healthcare facilities, schools and small businesses facing unreliable grid electricity.
The project, known as the Beyond-Zero Project, will focus on energy storage systems that can be repaired locally and expanded as demand increases. The approach is intended to provide reliable electricity while reducing dependence on diesel generation.
A second project will be led by SHIELD, a University of Oxford spin-out. It will help hospitals transition from diesel generators to solar and battery systems.
The project will initially target a major Kenyan hospital and test a financing model designed to reduce the cost of the transition while attracting additional investment.
The Star reports that the Kenyan projects are among the 10 projects across the continent being supported through the programme.
Clean Energy Projects Span Eight Countries
Beyond Kenya, the investment will support a broad range of applications across Africa.
In Uganda, British battery company AceOn will deploy battery-first systems for telecommunications infrastructure, healthcare facilities and humanitarian operations. The project will also test sodium-ion battery technology as an alternative energy-storage solution.
Rwanda’s SLS Energy will repurpose end-of-life electric vehicle batteries for second-life energy storage at telecommunications towers, healthcare facilities and businesses.
In Tanzania and Uganda, Simusolar will deploy financed solar systems for rural businesses, including shops, restaurants and agricultural processors.
Madagascar will receive community electrification projects, while Lesotho will pilot modular and repairable battery systems at operational mini-grids to reduce dependence on diesel backup generators.
The wider portfolio covers healthcare, telecommunications, agriculture and food systems, fisheries, rural electrification, small businesses, humanitarian operations and mini-grids.
Nigeria Targets Food Losses With Solar Power
Nigeria will receive projects aimed at improving food storage and agricultural infrastructure.
Farm Warehouse plans to deploy 100 solar-powered cold storage systems across major markets for fish, meat and dairy vendors.
The systems are designed to reduce food spoilage while providing small-scale food businesses with refrigeration powered by solar energy rather than diesel generators.
KAMIM Technologies will also establish four solar-powered agricultural hubs combining irrigation, cold storage, ice production and grain processing.
The projects are intended to help farmers and traders reduce post-harvest losses, improve access to markets and retain more value from agricultural production.
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Mozambique Brings Clean Energy to Fishing Communities
In Mozambique, Gommyr will establish renewable-powered fishing hubs combining solar power, battery storage and cold-chain technologies.
The hubs are intended to help fishing communities preserve catches, reduce post-harvest losses and access higher-value markets.
The project demonstrates how renewable energy can be integrated into productive economic activities rather than being used solely for household electricity.
The programme also includes solar-powered food storage and processing facilities in Nigeria, community electrification in Madagascar and clean energy solutions for small businesses across East Africa.
Moving From Pilot Projects to Scale
A major focus of the initiative is helping technologies that have already undergone testing move into wider deployment.
ZE-Gen Programme Director Lily Beadle said the next challenge is scaling the most successful approaches developed through earlier innovation programmes.
The latest portfolio therefore focuses on technologies that have demonstrated potential during pilot stages and are now being tested in real-world operating environments.
Citizen Digital reports that the projects are intended to test the commercial viability of clean energy solutions while expanding renewable energy and battery-storage technologies across African markets.
This approach is designed to demonstrate that clean energy can provide reliable power while supporting businesses and essential services.
Supporting Africa’s Energy Transition
The projects are being supported by the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund through the Transforming Energy Access platform and its Global Research and Technology Development portfolio.
The programme is also designed to strengthen links between UK innovation and African deployment.
According to Horn Diplomat, ZE-Gen was launched at COP27 and is led by the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK, with an ambition to mobilise £100 million to accelerate the replacement of fossil-fuel generators with renewable alternatives.
For African countries with weak or unreliable electricity grids, the projects provide opportunities to test different combinations of solar generation, battery storage and decentralised energy systems.
Outlook
The UK-backed projects mark a shift from simply developing clean energy technologies toward deploying them in the sectors and communities that rely heavily on reliable electricity.
For Kenya, the focus on hospitals, schools and small businesses places battery storage and solar power directly within essential services and productive activities.
Across the wider continent, the projects will test clean energy solutions in healthcare, telecommunications, agriculture, fisheries, food storage, rural electrification and mini-grids.
If the technologies prove commercially and operationally successful, the scale-up approach could help move more clean energy solutions beyond pilot projects and into broader African markets.
FAQs
1. How much is the UK investing in the clean energy projects?
The UK is backing more than £2 million across 10 clean energy projects in eight African countries.
2. Which African countries will benefit?
The projects are being implemented in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Madagascar, Nigeria, Mozambique and Lesotho.
3. What will the Kenyan projects focus on?
Acele Africa will deploy modular battery systems for healthcare facilities, schools and small businesses, while SHIELD will help hospitals transition from diesel generators to solar and battery systems.
4. What is the main goal of the programme?
The projects aim to expand proven clean energy technologies, reduce reliance on fossil-fuel generators and provide cleaner, more reliable and affordable electricity in areas with weak or unreliable grids.
Sources: AZo CleanTech | KBC Digital | AllAfrica | The Star | Tribune Online | Citizen Digital | Horn Diplomat
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