A portable power station for humanitarian contexts

For the estimated 80 million refugees, energy access is a significant challenge owing to difficulties in infrastructure development in camps. Energy is needed for lighting, communication and in particular cooking. Cooking requires fuels and it tends to fall on women and children to collect firewood. Therefore, this research is about developing an energy system that can meet the basic energy requirements for a family in rural off-grid or humanitarian contexts. A literature review was undertaken to assess the range of interventions already taking place for example, solar home systems. This led to a systemic development process for designing the device. Subsequently, a portable photovoltaic power station has been developed to meet the energy needs of a family in refugee or other contexts. This consists of a 360W PV module, 25.6V 75Ah lithium-iron-phosphate battery rated at 20A (500W), MPPT charge controller, breakers, connectors, and an enclosure, as well as USB lights and two cooking appliances. The system has been laboratory tested to ensure it delivers the power requirements for cooking and other services. Furthermore, typical meals have been cooked with different food loads. The next steps are a field trial in which 60 pilot systems will be during 2022.