Recording of Wednesday, May 07, 2025 | The smarter E Europe Conferences 2025 | Conference Program | Language: English | Duration: 15:05 .
The success of a mini-grid project, as explained by Thomas Kündiger from Balance of Storage Systems AG, relies on several critical factors. The Nigerian mini-grid example serves 12,000 shops using photovoltaics and iron phosphate batteries since 2018. Its success is attributed to adopting a startup mindset that focuses on technical reliability, economic viability, and effective team dynamics—similar to managing risks in startups where technology or financial issues often lead to failure. Technically, selecting sites with real demand such as mills ensures better use cases; standard components enhance robustness in remote areas while separate clusters can be more cost-effective than landlines when needed. Operational resilience is bolstered through backup options for weather variability and efficient troubleshooting routines; well-trained local teams are essential for maintaining strong support networks. Economically viable models must sustain operations beyond initial funding despite competition from public grid pricing—standardized cluster approaches allow scalability without compromising quality or operational understanding among operators who benefit from high-quality tools onsite. Success also depends on motivated operators with an entrepreneurial mindset who understand community energy needs and create revenue streams supporting sustainability. This approach helps tackle challenges like payment defaults or seasonal risks by fostering innovative solutions and potential expansions due to rising demand. Building an effective team involves skilled technicians alongside nurturing leadership among those managing operations locally—a long-term investment crucial for sustained success includes providing standardized photo documentation tools for troubleshooting responsibilities effectively.
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Thomas Kündiger
Chief Technology Manager
Balance of Storage Systems AG
Germany
Off-grid solar systems are often the least expensive option for rural electrification. Solar home systems can power individual households, while mini-grids can supply entire villages. Each comes with its own advantages, disadvantages, and challenges. The aim of this session is to explore challenges as well as success stories. It takes well-functioning components such as battery systems, charge management and inverters to make projects successful. Proper system sizing, maintenance and repair management, as well as a robust financial concept are also necessary. If one of these elements is missing, the electrification will not be sustainable. This session will focus on the aspects mentioned above. The speakers will present successful and unsuccessful approaches and discuss what can be learned from them.
Further Talks of this session:
Speaker
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Peter Adelmann
Director
id-eee Institute
Germany
Speaker
Catherine Adelmann
PhD Candidate
University of Applied Science Ulm
Germany
Speaker
Felix Boldt
CEO
Solarworx GmbH
Germany