Knowledge transfer between academia and industry has the potential to affect a lot of change for a small off-grid solar company like M-KOPA Solar, a Kenya-based company and 2015 recipient of the Zayed Future Energy Prize. This is why Harini Hewa Dewage joined M-KOPA Labs, the research branch of M-KOPA, in November of 2016 as its battery technology specialist.
She has been connecting academia to industry in the battery storage sector ever since.
Now Battery Research Lead for M-KOPA Labs, Dewage believes in the mission of M-KOPA: providing access to energy through high-quality solutions that are affordable for all. As of November 2018, M-KOPA has over 700,000 total households subscribing to their services. But while typical businesses or nonprofits working in the low-cost distributed solar industry focus on the potential for solar power to support lights, M-KOPA has worked to meet demand for larger appliances such as TVs or refrigerators.
“Coming from the western world, we have this idea that access to energy is being able to get lightbulbs and light,” explained Dewage. “And I think that’s a fantastic first move to be able to displace candles and kerosene for light, but I think where you see people’s quality of life really improve is with access to appliances and other services.”
At M-KOPA, Dewage believes in giving people not just access to lighting, but the full range of what energy can provide. She explained that a common assumption is that if you ask people what’s the first appliance they want, it would be a fridge or a washing machine. While those two appliances are important, however, the first appliance most people want is a TV.
But with larger appliances, it requires more battery understanding and development. And that is where things get tricky.
“Any problem you have on a smaller battery it might be magnified on a larger one by the sheer fact that you have more cells,” said Dewage. “But also new challenges will appear. For example, as your pack increases in size you might have to put in cooling systems, you might have to manage, you know, thermal radiance better within the pack.”
“Any problem you have on a smaller battery it might be magnified on a larger one by the sheer fact that you have more cells,” said Dewage. “But also new challenges will appear. For example, as your pack increases in size you might have to put in cooling systems, you might have to manage, you know, thermal radiance better within the pack.”
Recent Comments