SolarStartMICROGRID
Explore demos

Innovate Together Competition · Team THU 12

SolarStart Microgrid.

Modular solar, storage and AI-enabled energy management, with flexible PAYG access for underserved communities.

SolarStart solar panels, storage cabinet and mobile payment interface
SolarStart system · Concept illustration

See SolarStart in action

Choose one of four interactive demos.

01

USSD flow

Top up, receive an SMS token and restore power.

USSD / SMS · Smart meterOpen demo
02

Dashboard

Explore energy flows, device health and alerts.

Operations · Simulated telemetryOpen demo
03

User app

Check energy usage, equipment and account activity.

Customer experienceOpen demo
04

3D unit

Rotate the lab unit and explore its components.

Interactive hardware modelOpen demo
Interactive prototypes.Data, payments and hardware behaviour are simulated.

01 / The energy access gap

Reliable power is still out of reach.

600+

million people still without electricity

85%

of people without electricity live in Sub-Saharan Africa

High grid costs, polluting diesel and unaffordable solar keep reliable electricity out of reach.

Energy-access figures shown in the exhibition banner.

02 / The solution

One platform. Online or offline.

SolarStart combines solar generation, storage and intelligent energy management in one modular platform that can operate with or without connectivity.

Local energy management

Balances supply and demand to keep essential services running.

Flexible payments

Mobile-money payments and offline token access let users start small and grow.

Connected intelligence

Cloud AI supports forecasting and predictive maintenance when connectivity is available.

03 / One system, four tiers

From a household to a community.

One PAYG and energy-management architecture, from households to community microgrids.

Tier 1 · Residential

50–800 Wp

Lighting, charging and small appliances.

Tier 2 · Commercial

1–10 kWp

Refrigeration, pumps and small-business equipment.

Tier 3 · Community microgrid

10–100 kWp

Schools, clinics and essential services.

Tier 4 · Community microgrid

100–500 kWp

Water purification, milling and village-scale loads.

01

Affordable

Modular systems and flexible PAYG let users start small and grow.

02

Reliable

Local energy management keeps essential services operating offline.

03

Durable

Resilient storage, climate-ready hardware and AI-assisted maintenance.

04 / From pilot to regional scale

Start in Kigoma. Expand into Rwanda.

Africa locator and Tanzania–Rwanda map with Kigoma marked

01 · Kigoma, Tanzania

Planned starting point: Kigoma, one of Tanzania’s least electrified regions.

02 · Rwanda

Planned regional expansion into Rwanda, with the shared border supporting logistics.

05 / Measuring our impact

Our targets for lasting impact.

Project targets linked to affordability, energy access and reliable infrastructure. These are goals, not measured outcomes.

SDG 1Affordability
20% LOWER

household energy expenditure after 12 months

SDG 7Energy access
112,000

active users by Year 5

SDG 9Infrastructure
≥95%

annual uptime; systems operational after 24 months