MOROCCO – Swedish energy storage specialist Azelio AB has partnered with Moroccan solar Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor Jet Energy to deliver around 45 MW of storage projects in Francophone Africa in 2021-2025.
Jet Energy, a contractor specialising in construction, operation and maintenance of solar PV farms, is seeking to broaden its business offering and build itself as one of Azelio’s technology providers in the region, the Swedish company added.
The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), under which Jet Energy is to serve as project developer, with Azelio providing its thermal storage technology TES.POD.
The joint projects would pair the TES.POD systems, short for Thermal Energy Storage. Power on Demand., with new and existing solar photovoltaic (PV) parks.
“French-speaking Africa is one of the markets where we see that our technology for long-term (30 years) energy storage (TES.POD) can bring great benefits.”
Jonas Eklind – CEO, Azelio
The collaboration will focus on Morocco in particular and in French-speaking African countries in general, with the first projects targeting 50 kW in 2021, Azelio said. From then on, the partners expect to deliver 5 MW in 2022, 10 MW in 2023, 15 MW in 2024 and 15 MW in 2025.
The MoU arrives eight months after Azelio finalised the installation of its thermal storage system at the 580-MW Noor Ouarzazate hybrid solar power complex in Morocco.
Several power generation projects developed by Jet Energy in French-speaking Africa will soon have storage systems.
“French-speaking Africa is one of the markets where we see that our technology for long-term (30 years) energy storage (TES.POD) can bring great benefits. We are delighted to be working with Jet Energy in their efforts to provide customers with reliable and affordable renewable energy production around the clock,” said Jonas Eklind, Azelio’s CEO.
The storage systems that will be installed in French-speaking Africa use recycled aluminium as the storage medium. In other words, the system is free of rare minerals and will not suffer from a reduction in storage capacity over time.
This partnership comes about 8 months after the inauguration of Azelio’s first thermodynamic solar energy storage system in Morocco.
The installation is located in the solar complex of Noor Ouarzazate. It should be commissioned before the end of 2020, after the storage checks carried out by the Swedish company.
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