From hospitals in Kenya and telecom towers in Uganda to fishing communities in Mozambique and food markets in Nigeria, a new generation of UK-backed clean energy projects is demonstrating how reliable, affordable power can support the services and industries people rely on every day.
Years of UK-Government backed innovation support have created a portfolio of businesses with both UK and African roots that are now ready to scale proven clean energy solutions across Africa.
Today, ZE-Gen announced over £2 m of investment across ten projects that will help expand clean energy alternatives to fossil-fuel generators in sectors where reliable electricity can have the greatest impact, including healthcare, telecommunications, food production, small businesses and community energy access.
The projects will deploy and test proven renewable energy technologies in real-world settings, helping companies move from successful pilots to larger-scale deployment while demonstrating how clean energy can support essential services, strengthen local economies and improve resilience in off-grid and weak-grid communities.
Backed by the UK Government's Ayrton Fund through the Transforming Energy Access platform, funded through its Global Research and Technology Development portfolio, the latest ZE-Gen projects support companies that have already demonstrated promising technologies and approaches through earlier innovation programs. The latest portfolio builds on previous success following initiatives including ZE-Gen, Energy Catalyst and Powering Renewable Energy Opportunities.
The projects span a diverse range of sectors and applications. They include:
- Kenya - Clean energy systems for hospitals
- Uganda - Battery-powered telecommunications infrastructure
- Mozambique - Renewable-powered fishing and cold-chain hubs
- Nigeria - Solar-powered food storage and processing facilities
- Madagascar - Community electrification projects in Madagascar
- East Africa - New clean energy solutions for small businesses
Several projects also highlight links between UK innovation and international deployment. The portfolio includes Telford-based battery innovator AceOn, which is deploying pioneering sodium-ion storage systems in Uganda; SHIELD, a University of Oxford spin-out supporting hospitals in Kenya to transition away from diesel generation; and Gommyr, which is developing renewable-powered infrastructure for fishing communities in Mozambique.
Lily Beadle, Program Director, ZE-Gen, said:
"These ZE-Gen supported projects show how clean energy can power the services and businesses people rely on every day - from hospitals and telecommunications networks to food systems and local enterprises.
"Over several years, UK-backed innovation programs under the Ayrton Fund have helped businesses develop and test new solutions to replace fossil-fuel generators. The next challenge is scaling the most successful approaches.
"Through the ZE-Gen Scale-up Fund, we are helping innovative companies move from pilot projects to larger-scale deployment, creating new opportunities for investment while delivering cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy where it is needed most."
Countries Represented
East Africa
- Uganda (AceOn)
- Kenya (Acele Africa, SHIELD)
- Rwanda (SLS Energy)
- Tanzania (Simusolar)
- Madagascar (Nanoé)
West Africa
- Nigeria (KAMIM Technologies, Farm Warehouse)
Southern Africa
- Mozambique (Gommyr)
- Lesotho (Vittoria Technology)
Total: 10 projects across 8 African countries.
Summary of Sectors
The portfolio shows how clean energy can support:
- Healthcare - Hospitals and health facilities (SHIELD, AceOn)
- Telecommunications - Telecom towers and critical infrastructure (AceOn, SLS)
- Agriculture and food systems - Irrigation, cooling, processing and markets (KAMIM, Farm Warehouse)
- Fishing communities - Cold-chain and productive-use infrastructure (Gommyr)
- Small businesses - Solar power for shops, traders and enterprises (Simusolar, Nanoé)
- Rural communities - Household and community electrification (Nanoé)
- Humanitarian operations - Reliable power in critical settings (AceOn)
- Mini-grids - Improved storage and resilience (Vittoria)
Project Overview
Acele Africa (Kenya)
Sector: Healthcare, education and small businesses
Acele Africa will deploy locally designed and assembled modular battery systems to help healthcare facilities, schools and small businesses move away from diesel generators in areas with unreliable grid power. The project focuses on creating reliable, repairable and scalable energy storage systems that can continue operating and expanding over time.
Why it matters: Demonstrates how locally manufactured battery technology can provide a practical alternative to diesel generation while building local clean energy industries.
Joseph Mungai, CEO, AceleAfrica
“The next chapter of Africa’s energy story will be shaped by how intelligently we generate, store and use power. Through the Beyond-Zero Project, we are showing what that future can look like: healthcare facilities able to deliver essential services reliably, SMEs able to operate and grow with greater confidence, and locally developed energy storage proving that reliable, zero-emission power can be both scalable and commercially viablefu.”
AceOn (Uganda)
Sector: Telecoms, healthcare and humanitarian operations
Telford-based AceOn will deploy battery-first energy systems and pioneer the use of sodium-ion battery technology to replace diesel generators across telecommunications infrastructure, healthcare facilities and humanitarian sites in Uganda.
Why it matters: Showcases a UK-developed innovation moving from research and pilot stages into real-world deployment, while testing a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
Mark Thompson, Co-Founder & CEO, AceOn Group
“Every unit we deploy in Africa pulls through British engineering, design and manufacturing this is UK innovation from our Telford base earning its place in a fast-growing market, and building a genuine, lasting partnership between the UK and Uganda.”
Farm Warehouse (Nigeria)
Sector: Small businesses and food markets
Farm Warehouse will deploy 100 solar-powered cold storage systems across major markets, helping fish, meat and dairy vendors reduce spoilage and improve incomes. The systems combine refrigeration, solar power and digital marketplace services.
Why it matters: Uses clean energy to tackle food waste, improve economic opportunities for market traders and strengthen local food systems.
Kuma Mede, CEO, Farm Warehouse
“Reliable refrigeration should not be a luxury for small food businesses. Through this project, we are combining clean energy, efficient cold storage and affordable financing to help small-scale vendors preserve more of what they sell, grow their businesses and reduce their dependence on fossil-fuel generators.”
Gommyr (Mozambique)
Sector: Fisheries and cold-chain infrastructure
Gommyr will establish renewable-powered fishing hubs using solar, battery storage and cold-chain technologies. The project aims to help fishing communities preserve catches, access higher-value markets and reduce post-harvest losses.
Why it matters: Demonstrates how reliable clean energy infrastructure can unlock economic growth in coastal communities while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
Arnaud Henin, Gommyr Power Netweorks, said:
“The support from the ZE-Gen program has been a crucial catalyst for our GoHubs Pomene project, enabling an ambitious project scope that traditional commercial financing alone could not achieve. Mozambique represents a high-potential yet complex frontier market, where high upfront capital costs, geographic isolation, and lack of infrastructure often stall sustainable development.
Through ZE-Gen funding, Gommyr Power Networks is able to de-risk and deploy microgrid powered green fishing hub model into off-grid, remote coastal communities like Pomene - transforming local livelihoods through an integrated productive use and sustainable energy.”
KAMIM Technologies (Nigeria)
Sector: Agriculture and food systems
KAMIM will establish four solar-powered agricultural hubs combining irrigation, cold storage, ice production and grain processing. The hubs will help farmers and traders reduce losses, improve productivity and access wider markets without relying on diesel-powered equipment.
Why it matters: Demonstrates how clean energy can strengthen food security, support rural livelihoods and reduce emissions across agricultural value chains.
Adekoyejo Kuye, Founder & Managing Director, KAMIM Technologies Ltd
“Every harvest season, we meet farmers who did everything right but still lose income because the infrastructure around them simply isn’t there. Power is unreliable, there is nowhere to keep produce fresh, processing options are limited, and too often farmers have to sell quickly to whoever is available rather than to the best market.
CoolCycle is about changing that. With ZE-Gen support, we are bringing together reliable solar power, cold storage and freezing, ice and food-processing services, and digital tools that connect farmers, storage and buyers into one practical system. It gives us the opportunity not just to build more cold rooms, but to prove an end-to-end model that can reduce food waste, preserve quality, improve prices and keep more value within farming communities, and then scale what works across Nigeria.”
Nanoé (Madagascar)
Sector: Residential energy access and small businesses
Nanoé will expand and interconnect solar nano-grids to provide reliable electricity to rural communities and businesses. The project aims to replace small diesel generators with cleaner and more affordable energy services.
Why it matters: Offers a scalable approach to rural electrification that can support households and productive businesses while reducing energy costs.
Nicolas Saincy, co-founder, Nanoé
“This project allows Nanoé to bring clean, reliable solar electricity within reach of households and small businesses in northern Madagascar who currently depend on costly, polluting diesel generators - giving them a cleaner and more affordable alternative, and supporting the wider transition away from fossil fuels in rural Madagascar.”
Simusolar (Uganda and Tanzania)
Sector: Small businesses
Simusolar will deploy financed solar power systems for rural businesses including shops, restaurants and agricultural processors. The project aims to replace diesel generators with affordable clean energy solutions.
Why it matters: Supports small business growth by providing more reliable and lower-cost power while reducing fuel expenditure.
Marianne Walpert, co-Founder of Simusolar,
“This project will provide Simusolar with the market knowledge required to fully launch 2 new productive-use product lines targeting rural MSMEs. These businesses will benefit from solar-powered equipment like agricultural processing machines and refrigeration, increasing incomes and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.”
SHIELD (Kenya)
Sector: Healthcare
The University of Oxford spin-out SHIELD will help hospitals transition from diesel generators to solar and battery systems using an innovative financing approach. The project will begin with a major Kenyan hospital and explore ways to reduce costs and attract additional investment.
Why it matters: Demonstrates how clean, reliable electricity can improve healthcare delivery while reducing operating costs and emissions.
SLS Energy (Rwanda)
Sector: Telecoms, healthcare and small businesses
SLS Energy will repurpose end-of-life electric vehicle batteries to create second-life energy storage systems for telecom towers, healthcare facilities and businesses. The systems will provide clean power while reducing battery waste.
Why it matters: Combines circular economy principles with clean energy deployment, creating a lower-cost alternative to diesel generation.
“Reliable energy is essential for healthcare facilities, yet many still depend on diesel generators when the grid is unavailable. Through ZE-Gen, we are deploying solar and second-life battery systems to provide a cleaner, more reliable alternative and demonstrate a solution that can be scaled to other healthcare facilities.”
“The ZE-Gen project also supports Rwanda’s climate and environmental priorities, particularly greenhouse gas emissions reduction, the clean energy transition, circular economy, and sustainable waste management.”
Vittoria Technology (Lesotho)
Sector: Mini-grids and small businesses
Vittoria Technology will pilot modular and repairable battery systems that can be expanded and serviced locally. The batteries will be deployed at operational mini-grids in Lesotho, reducing reliance on backup diesel generators.
Why it matters: Tests a more flexible and sustainable approach to battery storage that could improve the economics and reliability of mini-grid systems.
Nathan Sermonis, CEO, Vittoria Technology
“Batteries are the most expensive and failure-prone single component of a mini-grid, and when they fail, operators must rely on gensets or reduce service to customers. Through the ReGen Battery Initiative, we are deploying a field-serviceable, expandable battery that Lesotho’s mini-grid technicians can repair and grow themselves, so scalable reliable power can be achieved without fossil fuels.
ZE-Gen funding allows us to field-trial the Endure battery under real operating conditions, something neither Vittoria nor Endure can self-fund at this pre-revenue, high-risk stage. It enables a subsidized real-world pilot that generates the evidence and operator confidence needed to unlock future commercial financing. Without grants like ZE-Gen, impactful technology development for low-income communities and small enterprises is too risky - and innovation stagnates.”