The deficit of continuous, reliable and affordable power in rural communities affects a significant percentage of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa. As a consequence of the demand for alternative sources of energy, any solution which ensures a continuous flow of power is of great interest to the society. Within this context, the development of a Smart Solar Modular Container (SSMoC) holds a lot of promise. The project aims to develop a modular, containerized, and locally manufactured solar PV solution with built-in intelligence and self-learning capabilities that is easy to transport, install, setup and use.
The SSMoC (named as Sunbow 360) has been identified as a potential solution to provide energy access and promote energy self-consumption in contexts with low electrification rates or with limited electricity quality of supply. The integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) of the system will allow the optimal sizing of the solution, which has been identified as one of the crucial phases of the execution of such installations in terms of economic viability, considering key environmental, social and economic data. The integrated AI will also allow the optimization of the system operations, management and maintenance during the lifetime of the containers, as to decrease system costs, simplify the management of the solution as to benefit the corresponding stakeholders involved, and increase the lifetime of the components such as batteries.
Tasks performed:
- Market research
- Product conceptualization
- Product development plan
- Production of dissemination materials
- Workshops and meetings with potential partners
