OpenMod4Africa aims to target the pressing challenge of energy poverty. Even though Africa is home to some of the best renewable resources on the planet, 596 million people still lacked access to modern energy in 2021, representing about 43% of the continent’s population of nearly 1.2 billion.
OpenMod4Africa aims to develop an open Toolbox populated with state-of-the-art models for analysing long-term pathways to sustainable, secure and competitive energy systems in Africa. The Toolbox will build on EU projects like Open ENTRANCE, Plan4RES and FocusAfrica, and will adapt and further develop open models in accordance with the African context and needs.
The models are scalable, and can be applied to cities, industries and countries. Furthermore, a main objective for OpenMod4Africa is capacity building about energy modelling in academia. Four African universities will be actively involved in adapting models and conducting two regional case studies. The additional capacity and the open Toolbox will enable the universities to train new generations of energy modelling experts for the energy industries in Africa.
A network of energy industries and universities in 26 African countries will also be engaged. These players will be invited to use the Toolbox, and to be involved in training activities. They will also be invited to a permanent network of expertise, which will be developed for further capacity building and collaboration beyond the project.
Harnessing Africa's Renewable Resources
Africa possesses abundant renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and hydro, which have the potential to provide clean and sustainable solutions.
By working closely with African universities and experts, the project aims to develop the necessary knowledge and tools for analysing and planning African energy systems. This will ensure that Africa can independently drive its energy transition and maximise the benefits of its renewable resources.
Case Studies and Collaboration from East to West
Africa is divided into five power pools. OpenMod4Africa will focus on the countries included in the West Africa Power Pool and in the Eastern Africa Power Pool. These cases will examine and develop energy pathways specific to each region, addressing the unique challenges and opportunities they face.
Finally, OpenMod4Africa aims to collaborate with other ongoing initiatives to maximize the impacts of the project and create synergies.
About OpenMod4Africa
The consortium consists of 15 partners and 2 associated partners. Eight partners are African.
Important long-term impacts from the three-year project include enabling academia and decision-makers in Africa to conduct their own analyses for the optimal development of their energy system, supplying energy to a much larger share of the population, and establishing a system based upon the abundant share of renewables on the continent.
Partners
- SINTEF ENERGI AS Norway
- ELECTRICITE DE FRANCE France
- CENTRE DE TEST DES SYSTEMES SOLAIRE Senegal
- FONDAZIONE ENI ENRICO MATTEI Italy
- VERITAS CONSULTING PLC Ethiopia
- STRATHMORE UNIVERSITY Kenya
- MAKERERE UNIVERSITY Uganda
- TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAT BERLIN Germany
- UNIVERSIDAD PONTIFICIA COMILLAS Spain
- RENEWABLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN AND AFRICA Italy
- INTERNATIONALES INSTITUT FUER ANGEWANDTE SYSTEMANALYSE Austria
- ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY Ethiopia
- Eastern Africa Power Pool, Ethiopia
- Ministry of Water Irrigation and Energy, Ethiopia
- West Africa Power Pool, Benin
Associated partners:
- ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE Switzerland
- Haute Ecole Specialisee de Suisse Occidentale, Switzerland
This project is financed by Horizon Europe, Grant no. 101118123