Telford company develops solar power unit for use in Africa

AceOn group in Telford has developed the device

A company has developed an affordable solar storage device to bring power to those in energy poverty.

It was designed by AceOn Group, based in Telford, Shropshire, for use in sub-Saharan Africa, where only half the population has access to electricity.

The project also received funding after being developed to use a more eco-friendly form of battery.

Experts said investing in the region will be a "win-win".

The device collects solar energy which can be used to power devices

Only 60% of Nigeria's population has access to electricity and often have to use noisy, polluting petrol generators during power cuts.

Mark Thompson, managing director for AceOn Group, said the unit can collect solar power through the day, before powering equipment at night.

The company has partnered with a Nigerian company who will be distributing the generators.

The device prevents people from having to get petrol, Dave Nwosu said

Dave Nwosu, the CEO of the company, Nevadic, said: "You don't need to worry about visiting the petrol or gas station to buy petrol on a daily basis, because the sun is always there for you, so you save your time and save your energy and it doesn't bother the environment."

The development of the generator received UK research and innovation funding because it is possibly one of the first to use sodium-ion batteries, which are made from cheap materials, so are not as environmentally damaging to process as lithium-ion batteries, which are currently used in phones, laptops and electric cars.

Harsh Pershad said investing in emerging economies is a "win-win"

Harsh Pershad, senior innovation lead at Innovate UK, which provides money and support to organisations to make new products and services, said: "I think it will be a win-win for us to invest and partner with the most rapidly emerging economies right now.

"If we can support them at this crucial stage when all the infrastructure decisions are made. then we can benefit from our jobs here... we can also help others to develop, that's got to be a win-win."