Ubuntu Energy

Partners: Kula Foods

Country: Nigeria

Technology: Leave no one behind technologies and business models

Stage: Mid

Stage: Round 10

Nigeria’s electricity sector is hampered due to it’s distributed energy resources (DERs) being sub-optimally utilised meaning that they are substantially wasteful. Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are up to 400% oversized or lack the mechanism required to utilise their generation potential. Rural communities only utilise about 5% of the potential PV energy, yet, 85 million Nigerians have no electricity access, costing Nigeria $26 billion annually for self-generation using carbon-intensive generators.

With support from Energy Catalyst, Greenage Technologies Power Systems aims to enhance community resilience in sub-Saharan Africa through Energy Ubuntu, an innovative energy-sharing platform. Similar to the ‘Uber of Energy,’ it democratises power sharing, converting wasted energy into community power. Addressing challenges of energy access, poverty, and global warming, the initiative designs a smart grid peer-to-peer energy-sharing framework for Nigeria. With a focus on optimising distributed energy resources and utilising excess generation potential, Energy Ubuntu incentivises individuals and businesses to sell clean and affordable electricity to nearby consumers.