The CEA at INES is partner in this project, led by the company Lumila, of a photovoltaic charging station not connected to the grid, intended for beekeepers in Burkina Faso. This concept of shared local energy brings together the expertise of three partners: those of Lumila, a company specialising in portable lighting, those of PowerUp, especially for battery management, and those of the CEA for photovoltaic and electrical system management.
Crédits : Franck VOGEL
Lumila's Apipower project, winner of the FASEP call for projects
Published on 04/19/2022
The project aims to develop a solution to the electrification needs of rural areas and unconnected outskirts of rapidly expanding cities. It should contribute to the fight against fuel poverty, provide light and electricity for local communities to live and work in good conditions, while being compatible with local economic conditions and the environment. The target beneficiaries of FASEP are beekeepers who have to work at night.
The concept combines a photovoltaic production field, a central energy storage and a recharging station where users can come to exchange/recharge a reserve of energy in the form of autonomous battery packs, rather like "electricity bombs".
In particular, the CEA teams at INES will have to help meet all the technical challenges by applying their simulation and modelling skills and tools to size the complete photovoltaic system as accurately as possible. This will include in particular
- Analysis of the entire chain between the solar energy and the output voltage of the power converter
- Scenario studies for maximizing electrical efficiency
- Life cycle and carbon footprint analysis of the complete system.
A demonstrator will be set up in Burkina Faso in the coming months as part of the project.
Credits: LUMILAThe FASEP is a support mechanism for the internationalization of French companies from the French Treasury to finance feasibility studies or the demonstration of green and innovative technologies. To find out more about the FASEP
Lumila is an associate partner of the ITE INES.2S, an institute for energy transition (ITE). Led by the CEA at INES, the ITE's mission is to develop an industrial sector for the integration of photovoltaic solar energy in France, in support of the French Multiannual Energy Programming Law. It is co-financed by the French government under the Programme d'Investissements d'Avenir (ANR-10-IEED-0014-01).