Systems Sunlight is preparing a pitch for the second round of Nigeria’s energising education programme (EEP), a company official has said.

The battery company was involved in the first round, which was completed in 2019.

“Sunlight is committed to improving the lives and livelihoods of the many that benefit from the use of our products. The delivery of the EPP encapsulates this ethos and our vision for a better, more sustainable future,” said Sunlight’s senior area sales manager Dimitris Panagiotou.

The Sunlight official went on to call for increased use of batteries to complement renewable energy and the grid. This “gives flexibility and helps to overcome the power supply shortages or even to provide a power network where it is not present at all”, he said.

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) is implementing the EEP, with the aim of bringing power to 37 universities and seven teaching hospitals.

Sunlight’s part in the first phase of the EEP involved the provision of 5,760 components, including 30 battery sets. Batteries play an important part in the provision of power from renewables, he said.

The company sees further growth in Africa, beyond Nigeria. Panagiotou said the company had 15 years of experience in the market. The continent has “consistently seen the largest demand for electricity, particularly off-grid”.

“We have already undertaken several successful projects in other countries in Africa including Ghana, Madagascar, Kenya, Egypt, Namibia, Botswana, Malawi, Mali, and Algeria. We have recently undertaken a project with the UN in Senegal in which Sunlight supported the supply of power to several villages from batteries.”