Solar energy to produce cold: mission impossible? Antenna accepted the challenge and took it up! Its Schools and Energy Units, in collaboration with our partners from the Haute école de travail social (HES-SO) in Geneva, the HESO-SO Valais and the Centre de formation professionnelle de référence de Zinaré, developed mobile solar refrigerators, 80% of which are manufactured locally in Burkina Faso.
The development of this solution was preceded by a socio-economic study of the needs of the population and the market. Its objectives are to make the CFPR in Ziniaré, whose students make the refrigerators, autonomous and to strengthen their skills in areas such as construction, sustainable development and IT.
The partners, including our colleague Pierre-Gilles Duvernay, presented the project on 24 January 2023 at the HETS-Geneva, in the framework of the “Midis de la recherche“, in front of about twenty people interested in this innovative solution. The first 25 prototypes will soon be marketed using the Pay-as-you-go system, which Antenna has already implemented for the sale of pumps or solar mills in the region.
In our recording of the conference “The meeting of social, economic and engineering aspects: applied research on the manufacturing of solar refrigerators in Burkina Faso” (in French), you will meet: Théogène-Octave Gakuba (HETS-Geneva)/HES-SO), Pierre-Gilles Duvernay (Antenna Foundation), Stéphane Genoud (HES-SO Valais/Wallis) and Pierre Ouedraogo (CFPR of Ziniaré).
More information on the project on Antenna’s website.
Promotional 3.5 minute video of the project on our YouTube channel. (in French)