By Victor Aniefiok
A team of students of the African Centre of Excellence in Future Energies and Electrochemical Systems (ACE-FUELS), Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) has won the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge bronze award for its innovative DC-powered dual-function device for farm produce preservation. It also received funding from the sponsors of the Challenge to develop a prototype of its designed system.
The Efficiency for Access Design Challenge is a global, multi-disciplinary competition that empowers teams of university students to help accelerate clean energy access. The Challenge motivates participants to create affordable and high-performing off-grid appliances and enabling technologies.
The 2023-2024 edition of the Efficiency for Access Design Challenge marked the fifth year of the competition. It featured more than 130 students from 14 universities across Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, the UK, and Zimbabwe. ACE-FUELS participated in the competition for the first time with a team of five students drawn from its MSc Future Energies programme.
The Efficiency for Access Design Challenge is delivered by research and development innovators, Efficiency for Access, in collaboration with Engineers Without Borders UK and funded with UK aid from the UK government via the Transforming Energy Access (TEA-LP) platform and the IKEA Foundation. ACE-FUELS participated in this year’s Challenge as a TEA-LP partner.
