RES Project Kenya
Advancing sustainable walk-in storage rooms in East Africa
09/2024 - 12/2025
Partners
General Overview
Phaesun GmbH together with the Kenyan Partner WeHub Victoria Limited (WeTu) are working to promote sustainable technology and local cold room construction.
- Two SelfChill Cold Rooms had been installed at Lake Victoria at public market places in 2024. Construction was partly done with renewable and recycled material, following the innovative low-carbon concept.
- Both cold rooms are used to offer Cooling-as-a-Service to market traders in order to reduce post-harvest losses of valuable crops.
- Phaesun and WeTu are operating a programme to sensitize about the effects of cooling for agricultural produce, to demonstrate the innovative technology of the cold rooms and to support local construction of cold rooms with renewable and recycled material.
Background
The rural population in Kenya is largely dependent on agriculture. The majority of agricultural products are still grown by small farmers using traditional methods. In agriculture, high temperatures damage freshly harvested fruit and vegetables (mangoes, herbs, leafy vegetables, mushrooms), and much of it suffers high losses until it reaches the end customer.
Traditionally, a large proportion of agricultural produce is traded at marketplaces in rural centers.
While the electricity grid is often inadequate in Kenya‘s rural region, solar radiation is in contrast constantly high throughout the year. The partners have set up two SelfChill solar-powered cold rooms at marketplaces on the shores of Lake Victoria. The cold rooms are rented out to market vendors as part of a cooling-as-a-service model. The project team aims to introduce and disseminate the concept throughout Kenya and beyond.
Activities
- Solar Cooling Conference and Tour: The project highlight is the Solar Conference and Tour, taking place in April 2025. Participants will learn about the background of solar cooling for agricultural produce, receive in-depth information on the cooling technologies and sustainable construction concept and have the chance to visit the two cold rooms installed at market places in Mbita and Homabay. Please find here all the information as well as the registration form for the event: Solar Cooling Conference and Tour
- End-user training: Small-scale farmers, wholesalers and market traders are the direct target group for cooling services. Within the project, training material is being developed highlighting the aspects and benefits of cooling methods.
Communication and awareness creation: Activities for communication and awareness creation such as media cooperation, networking at public events and conferences for the professional audience will be organized.
The RES Project Kenya is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of the Renewable Energy Solutions Programme of the German Energy Solutions Initiative
German Energy Agency (dena)
The German Energy Agency (dena) is a centre of excellence for the applied energy transition and climate protection. dena studies the challenges of building a climate-neutral society and supports the German government in achieving its energy and climate policy objectives. Since its founding in 2000, dena has worked to develop and implement solutions and bring together national and international partners from politics, industry, the scientific community and all parts of society. dena is a project enterprise and a public company owned by the German federal government. dena’s shareholders are the Federal Republic of Germany. www.dena.de/en
German Energy Solutions Initiative
With the aim of positioning German technologies and know-how worldwide, the German Energy Solutions Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) supports suppliers of climate-friendly energy solutions in opening up foreign markets. The focus lies on renewable energies, energy efficiency, smart grids and storage, as well as technologies such as power-to-gas and fuel cells. Aimed in particular at small and medium-sized enterprises, the German Energy Solutions Initiative supports participants through measures to prepare market entry as well as to prospect, develop and secure new markets. www.german-energy-solutions.de/en
Renewable Energy Solutions Programme (RES Programme)
With the RES programme, the Energy Export Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK) helps German companies in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors enter new markets. Within the framework of the programme, reference plants are installed and marketed with the support of the German Energy Agency (dena). Information and training activities help ensure a sustainable market entry and demonstrate the quality of climate-friendly technologies made in Germany. www.german-energy-solutions.de/res-programm.html
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