A Quest to Address the Solar E-Waste Puzzle
The Global LEAP Awards are an international competition to identify and promote the world’s best, most energy-efficient off-grid appliances. The Solar E-Waste Challenge was launched in 2019, with an aim to identify innovations in solar e-waste management across sub-Saharan Africa. Now in its second round, the Solar E-Waste Challenge strengthens its objective to accelerate the provision of sustainable e-waste management. Through a rigorous evaluation process, the competition selected four winners spanning five countries to implement projects in extended product lifespan, enhanced reparability and refurbishment and battery technology. This blog series explores solar e-waste ecosystems and provides insights into each company’s unique challenges and opportunities.
“Aceleron realized that we needed to fill the [e-waste] gap and make sure we’re able to develop a technology to help with this problem we face now and into the future, [especially] with the emergence of electric vehicles and other applications that are switching to electric use. Our batteries are designed in a way that they can be maintained, repaired and upgraded. Through our technology, design and strategy, we’re able to accelerate access to clean technologies in off-grid communities.” — Joseph Mungai, Country Operations Manager, Kenya
Aceleron first launched in the United Kingdom in 2016 as a collaboration between co-founders Amrit Chandan and Carlton Cummins, who both realized that batteries were not designed to be maintained. To address this e-waste problem, the two decided to design a first-of-its-kind sustainable, repairable and recyclable clean energy lithium-ion battery pack that could power the growing off-grid solar sector. Today, Aceleron manufactures two types of batteries: a lithium-ion battery pack with completely new cells and near lifetime usability; and another in which 95% of the cells have been repurposed from off-grid solar products and waste electronics.
Aceleron’s mission to close the gap between production of off-grid solar products and their disposal has led the company to work on improving their technology and form tighter collaborations with the off-grid solar sector. As a leader and innovator in the e-waste space, Aceleron has since expanded into Kenya and Rwanda, where they are piloting ambitious projects that will deliver clean energy to off-grid communities, build local capacity and serve as a model for other companies to replicate around the world.
Kenya Pioneering the Off-Grid Solar Frontier
When Aceleron first expanded its operations into Kenya in 2018, the country was already becoming a pioneer solar market. Over the past few years, the sector has grown, with significant price reductions in solar panels and increased uptake through government support. The Efficiency for Access Coalition estimated that 282 companies were participating in the off-grid solar appliance sector four years ago; that number is now up to 479. Yet despite the positive impact the off-grid sector has created in catalyzing regional transitions to renewable energy and bridging the energy access gap, it has also resulted in increased quantities of e-waste. The International Renewable Energy Agency projects that up to 78 million metric tons of solar panels will reach their end of life by 2050; a projected 6 million metrics tons of solar e-waste is expected to be generated each year.
In response to this growing problem, the Kenyan government, through the National Environmental Management Agency (NEMA) and the Ministry of Environment, created a set of guidelines¹ that outline how both formal and informal sector stakeholders can manage their waste streams.
“An e-waste guideline now exists from the Ministry [that helps] guide all stakeholders on what their responsibilities are and [what their] accountability is in this space. Through such partnerships, it has made the disposal aspect much better. We’re not where we need to be but we’re making good steps in the right direction,” Joseph reflected on the state of the e-waste ecosystem in Kenya.
While collaboration between stakeholders continues to strengthen the off-grid solar sector, Joseph highlighted the importance of awareness raising among individuals and households. As more people move away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy solutions, public awareness on the effects of improper e-waste disposal gains critical importance. Knowledge of not only how and when to dispose of solar or electronic products, but also the environmental and health impacts of mismanaged waste disposal are crucial in tying up the threads of a circular economy.
“Even for kids, they all have their own gadgets,” says Joseph. Teaching kids about sustainable e-waste (and overall waste) management practices and strategies, as well as the importance of a circular economy, are crucial topics to integrate into school curricula. These lessons engender an understanding of responsibility and citizenship, argues Joseph. “When you’re young and you grow with a certain mindset and responsibility on waste disposal, then you get a better country in the future when these kids are adults and they take responsibility.”
Finding Solutions to E-Waste Hesitancy
At the outset of Aceleron’s arrival in Kenya, the company identified the WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Centre as an implementing partner since they had enough waste cells in their facility. The WEEE Centre, which has headquarters in Kenya but collaborates with partners across the continent, works to safely manage all obsolete and end-of-life electrical and electronic equipment. Before Aceleron and the WEEE Centre’s partnership, the WEEE Centre did what a number of other solar sector stakeholders had to do: pile up the lithium cells from used solar products in storage to reach necessary quantities for shipment. Once the e-waste reached a certain load, they would ship it to another recycling partner in Belgium, a rather costly process. As with organic waste, e-waste management companies in East Africa charge for disposal, often imposing significant costs due to shipping, documentation and human resources required.
“To recycle one ton of lithium batteries, the cost is quite significant,”² Joseph noted. “That’s why you find huge loads of lithium-ion cells piling into [company] stores and facilities.
However, by improving their technology testing and building products that streamline the e-waste disposal process, Aceleron’s partnership with the WEEE Centre is turning hesitation into enthusiasm. Their efforts have caught the attention not only of customers and government departments like Kenya’s Ministry of Environment, but also of international organizations. These partnerships have helped Aceleron acquire equipment and expand their research and development.
“It made sense to repurpose the cells and rebuild for sale, as opposed to incurring costs to have them disposed in a foreign country. Based on our mission as a company, that of the WEEE Centre and the government goals for e-waste sector, [these technologies] are meeting our expectations and needs.”
The Global LEAP Awards Solar E-Waste Challenge
Aceleron’s Solar E-Waste Challenge project, entitled CASLE — Creating Access to Second Life Energy — aims to design and assemble energy storage products generated from the off-grid solar sector’s e-waste. With their expertise in design innovation, Aceleron’s improved technologies and testing processes will continue to optimize the circular battery economy.
Their main objective is to improve the battery management system technology, and with that technology, to test and recharge 48,000 solar battery cells. Out of those 48,000 cells, Aceleron aims to assemble more than 1,500 clean energy storage units (1,200 of which will be assembled in Kenya and the remaining 300 in Rwanda).
So far, the project has already tested more than half the target cells. Aceleron attributes this accelerated speed to Global LEAP’s support, which helped them acquire additional cell-testing equipment that has improved their products and capacity. At this pace, Aceleron aims to finalize the project by the end of January 2022.
“Global LEAP has really shortened our journey. What we wanted to achieve in three years, we’ll be able to achieve in one and a half years — even less time if it wasn’t for COVID.” Aceleron has already tested around 30,000 cells, with the remaining 18,000 set to be tested in the next few weeks. “We’ve improved our output by around 250%: we used to do 80 cells per run; now we’re doing 200 cells per run.”
The COVID-19 pandemic was of course a decelerating factor, as it was for most of the off-grid solar sector. Yet it has also compelled Aceleron to cut back on inefficiencies and develop streamlined processes. As a result, Aceleron has improved their processes by acquiring more equipment to test used battery cells and by reevaluating and updating their standard operating procedures at multiple intervals throughout the project.
Global LEAP funding has also helped Aceleron roll out their operations in Rwanda through Enviroserve. With this expansion into Rwanda, they plan to test cells and assemble eco battery packs for the Rwandan market and other neighboring countries such as Eastern Congo.
Looking to the Future
As the world reduces its dependence on fossil fuels and moves towards cleaner sources of energy, the other half of the picture — in particular, the waste aspect of solar energy solutions — must come into focus. According to Joseph, awareness depends significantly on the responsibility of solar companies to take action. It begins at the moment of sale: when a company sells their product to a customer, it’s important for them to inform the customer on e-waste and how to handle, dispose or repair the products properly once they are no longer functioning optimally.
Alongside transparency and awareness raising, battery design uniformity is another aspect that could help prevent unnecessary generation of e-waste. Presently, as the solar energy and e-mobility sectors grow, numerous companies are designing their own batteries. Aceleron, for example, is working with eight e-mobility companies, each of which has their own battery design. Without the capacity to design eight unique batteries, Aceleron hopes to see greater interoperability across companies in the future.
“Like laptops, each company can have their own unique exterior designs, but the batteries and components are the same. It makes it easier for customers to be able to go to any battery swap station and swap out their battery. These are things [these companies] need to look at to make the process easier.” As the off-grid solar and e-waste space evolves, Aceleron remains open to the challenges and opportunities that arise in a dynamic environment.
Before the project wraps up in January 2022, Aceleron will publish a white paper with the University of London on the most practical eco battery applications and the carbon emissions impacts from e-waste and the circular economy.
This article is part of a series of Spotlight Articles on the four Global LEAP Awards Solar E-Waste Challenge finalists. The remaining articles will be published in the coming months as the Challenge wraps up by March 2022. Learn more about the Challenge.
¹ The Sustainable Waste Management Bill, 2019; Ministry of Environment and Forestry, National E-Waste Management Strategy, 2019; Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Extended Producer Responsibility Regulations, 2020.
² Shipping five tons of unprocessed batteries costs approximately USD$3,500.
