G24i lights the way for homes in Rwanda

May 26 2008 by Aled Blake, Western Mail

NEXT-GENERATION solar manufacturer G24 Innovations (G24i) has won a grant from the World Bank to develop its technology to light homes in Rwanda.

The company, based in Wentloog on the outskirts of Cardiff, was awarded the grant in the Lighting Africa Development Marketplace awards in Ghana.

The awards aim to reward the development of products which provide the most innovative, off-grid lighting solutions for the 500 million people without electricity in sub-Saharan Africa.

G24i was recognised by an international panel of experts for the creation of a cutting-edge solar-powered LED light which utilises their proprietary Dye-Sensitised Thin Film (DST) solar cells.

Silicon free, the cells are extremely lightweight and durable, making them ideal for rugged conditions. They are able to generate electricity in poorly-lit and indoor conditions, providing users with low-cost, high-quality light when and where it is needed.

G24i, with support from LED lighting manufacturer Lemnis, will receive a grant of $US200,000 (£101,000) to further develop the light and to set up large-scale distribution in Rwanda.

It will be G24i's second product following the launch of its solar-powered mobile phone charger in 2007.

The mobile phone chargers are also designed for the developing world, where mobile phone sales are already growing at a rapid rate, despite widespread lack of access to electricity.

Robert Hertzberg, chairman of G24i, said: "It is a great honour to be recognised with this award. We believe that our technology has the potential to revolutionise personal energy, materially improving the lives of a huge number of people across the globe.

"This prize will make a real difference in helping us to provide a reliable and high-quality source of light for the developing world which does not damage the environment."

World Bank lead energy specialist Anil Cabraal said: "Lack of access to affordable and reliable energy is a main contributor to poverty today. More than 1.6 billion people worldwide are without access to electricity and the problem is most acute in sub-Saharan Africa.

"People there are forced to rely upon kerosene or even lower quality forms of energy to obtain inferior quality lighting that is also a cause of serious indoor pollution.

"They also have, in aggregate, a substantial carbon footprint. G24 Innovation's light will help solve these problems and we are delighted to be sponsoring it as one of our winners for 2008."

G24i won the Welsh Innovative Company, sponsored by CadCentre UK, at the Western Mail Business Awards for Wales last Friday in recognition of its ground-breaking technology.

The company has also been granted planning permission to erect a 2.5MW wind turbine at its site in Wentloog.

G24i expects the turbine to generate enough green electricity to power G24i's 187,000sq ft site and possibly a significant number of surrounding homes and businesses. The project is expected to be completed this year.

The company became the first in the world to produce commercial-grade DST cells last October, marking the commercialisation of more than 18 years of research and development.

It was recognised as having the potential for "the largest impact in improving the environment" at the renewable industry's Rushlight Awards in December.

A deal for G24i's mobile phone chargers, centred around the revolutionary DST technology has been made with a company in Kenya. G24i has a strategy to first target markets in the developing world, where people in remote areas have little access to reliable power sources.

It has also announced a tie-up with Cardiff University, which has agreed to let G24i use its engineering facilities after signing a research and development deal in December.

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Jean-Louis Kayitenkore
Procurement Consultant
Gsm: +250-08470205
Home: +250-55104140
P.O. Box 3867
Kigali-Rwanda
East Africa
Blog: http://www.cepgl.blogspot.com
Skype ID : Kayisa66