ASton University has received a grant of £241,075 from Innovate UK, which is part of over one million pounds in overall funding for the CoolRun project in Malawi, in southern Africa. The researchers are to develop a mobile refrigerated box cooled by a phase-change material which can release or absorb sufficient energy to keep fruit cool.

The first dealership for electric vehicles (EVs) has opened in Malawi’s capital city, Lilongwe. Oil giant Total has partnered with Sky Energy to install chargers at its fuel stations and strategic locations. Sky Energy has installed solar power in all Total and Puma fuel stations during the past three years.

Through combining the latest technology with an affordable financing model and strong community operations, in phase two of the pilot, called Light a Village, SolarAid increased the number of homes it services with solar lighting from 500 to 2500 this year. They are now hoping to roll it out across the country and other sub-Saharan African nations.

Cyclone Freddy wiped out Chabvala’s vaccine cold chain. Solar-powered vaccine fridges are helping to get the town’s vaccine programme back on track. Malawi has missed vaccination opportunities prior to solarisation, as district hospitals have had other emergency priorities other than minding cold chains affected by frequent electricity failures.

Government of Malawi seems to be moving slowly, but has set up goals to reduce biomass use to 33.5 per cent in 2035 from 88.2 per cent at present. It also seeks to increase electricity generation from renewables to 28.9 per cent by 2035 from two per cent and promote decentralised mini-grids to villages that are more than five kilometres from grid.

Dzenza CDSS, a secondary school with 230 students, is now powered by a 9kW solar installation. Electricity at the school will enable the use of teaching equipment, cooking facilities and lessons in the afternoon and evening, providing students with better opportunities to study and prepare for examinations.