Niche Plug Limited

According to the World Bank, Nigeria has the largest energy deficit globally. About 85 million Nigerians (43% of the population) mostly rural settlements have no access to grid electricity. As of 2022, Nigeria was the highest importer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and diesel generators in Africa. Nigerian households and businesses spend  $22 billion annually to fuel generators powering their homes and business. The collective capacity of these backup generators is eight times more than Nigerias entire national grid. Greenhouse gas emissions from generator usage in Nigeria is expected to rise from 11.9 million tons to 17.1 million by 2030.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2020 reported that transportation accounts for 24% of direct CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. Road vehicles – cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and tricycles account for nearly three-quarters of transport CO2 emissions.

With the transport sector accounting for between 23% and 30% of Lagos’ annual emissions. electrifying the transport system will enable the Nigerian to achieve its 2050 net-zero climate mitigation target as a signatory of the United Nations Race to Zero campaign.

Although Nigeria has an ambitious plan to achieve net zero gas emission by 2060, but realities seem unlikely especially when you consider this  recent report, from the International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) which says that 86% of the companies in Nigeria own or share a generator while 84% of urban households power their homes with fossil diesel/ gasoline generators.

Nigeria is home to some of the world’s most polluted cities, for instance, Onitsha was the city with the world’s worst air at some point which is largely due to over-reliance on fossil-powered generators which all accumulate to a threat to Nigerias climate change plans. 

Further more, the International Trade Administration report released in 2018 by the National Bureau of statistics puts the total number of vehicles in Nigeria at 11.8 million. 4.6 million are  private ownership, 135,000 are state-owned, 5,834 belong to diplomats, and 6.7 million are for commercial purposes. The International Energy Agency (IEA) in 2020 reported that transportation accounts for 24% of direct CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. Road vehicles – cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and tricycles account for nearly three-quarters of transport CO2 emissions.

The rural electrification policy (2005) and  National Electric power policy (2001) has a goal of increasing access to 75% and 90% by 2030 where 10% of this access will be by off grid renewable means. 

Since 1981, the Nigerian Rural Electrification program (NREP) has been charged with the responsibility of enhancing the increase of electricity access to rural areas in the country. However, its strategy has been to extend the national grid to provide electricity to local government headquarters. In the past, electric access meant grid electrification only. This meant that any household which could not be accessed by grid or mini grid would be excluded from any form of electrification.

We will fully harness the full potential of our God giving sunlight, which then means that our business model lays emphasis on not just solar generation but also on storage and affordable access.

We have designed an intervention that seek to improve access and usage of off grid green energy technologies across rural and urban communities in Nigeria. We will deploy solar panels, Hybrid inverters, lithium battery and then the meter to direct excess energy to the neighborhood for a fee.  

After vetting and verifying our potential benefactors, the supply and installations of our systems will come with a first 50% installment payment, while subsequent balance will be done in installments. Our Solar Panels (polycrystalline and Mono-crystalline silicon panels) comprised of 550W-600W 144 half cells, 50W size 630*540*25mm, 285W size 1640*992*35mm, 300W size 1640*992* 35mm*25mm, can either be placed on the roof top of buildings or in an open field.

 For efficiency, our technology includes a lithium battery which is lighter weight and has twice the power to maintain high energy capacity. From our survey, 95% of our respondents generally considered lithium batteries to be better than led batteries. Lithium batteries with high discharge rate, has up to 20 times longer cycle life, five times longer float/calendar life and a reduced replacement cost which reduces cost of ownership in the long term.

Our green solution, is made up of easy to use set up of lithium batteries that is made of 8pcs 48V150 connected in series, which has the capacity to store up to 57.6kwh . These batteries have a signal line that can be connected to obtain signals that will enable owners to read their battery data on their phone and computer. For safety, our system will include multimeter to test battery voltage before usage.

Benefactors can pay for systems in installments and also create new income through the ability to sale their excess energy to their neighbors with Our profit co-creating scheme for clients. With this scheme, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will till be able to access clean energy sources. We will partner with small and mid-size businesses, homes, schools, hospital.

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Our target population are Nigerian households and businesses who spend  $22 billion annually to fuel generators powering their homes and business. The collective capacity of these backup generators is eight times more than Nigerias entire national grid. Greenhouse gas emissions from generator usage in Nigeria is expected to rise from 11.9 million tons to 17.1 million by 2030.

Homes and small businesses spends $12 billion yearly on buying and operating fossil fuel backup generators . According to UN Com-trade official international trade statistics, Nigerians spent $499.38 million dollars on importing back up fossil fuel emission generators between 2015-2019. In 2018 $207.99 million was spent; which accounted for the highest amount spent, while in 2016 $27.17 million dollars was spent, accounting for the lowest that was spent in this period.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria has the largest energy deficit globally. About 85 million Nigerians (43% of the population) mostly rural settlements have no access to grid electricity.

The outcome of building a society around green Renewable energy is the golden potential that connects to economic prosperity, social equity, and environmental sustainability. Our intervention will create a framework towards meeting the agreement within the UNITED NATIONS Framework Convention On Climate Change (UNFCCC) which has a long term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre industrial levels; and to limit the increase to 1.5c, so as to substantially reduce the risk and effects of climate change.

According to PWC MSMEs 2020 survey, the MSMEs contribute to 96% of the total businesses in Nigeria and contributes 50% to National GDP but yet MSMEs get short changed because of the huge costs of energy.

Access to cheap and frequent supply through our green renewable resources would build resilience that will maximize economic growth in these regions.

The immediate output of our intervention will  be pronounced in urban settlements especially since our business model will create lots of power generating entrepreneurs who will be generating electricity with green energy sources and supplying excess electricity to neighborhoods for a fee using our services . Also in rural communities we will have solar fields that will generate store and supply rural households. In rural communities, women and children will experience an improved livelihood, improved farming in areas like storage of seedlings, food and general trading. In Nigeria 83% of MSME entrepreneurs are women and access to clean affordable energy sources will improve their profits, create a healthy and productive life for women.

Several attempts to curb the environmental impacts of these back up generators hat met dead ends; for instance in 2020, a bill on the ban of imported generators was sponsored by senator Bima Muhammadu Enagi but was received with hostility as Nigerians stated the deplorable of the current electricity supply as not conducive for such ban.

Niche Plug aims to build a redefined interest in off grid green energy generation by providing access to business opportunities to entrepreneurs through arranged transactions that provides installment payments for systems. Also Since the lithium batteries will store up energy creating room for excess energy supply from the solar panels, We will also incorporate a platform whereby clients can sale excess energy to neighbors. In Nigeria, only well to do citizens which represent about 10% of the population are able to afford these technologies and because we understand the economic disparities in Nigeria we have structured a vetting and supply system that guarantees Ownership of green energy systems.

Benefactors can pay for systems in installments and also create new income through the ability to sale their excess energy to their neighbors with Our profit co-creating scheme for clients. With this scheme, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will still be able to access clean energy sources. We will partner with small and mid-size businesses, homes, schools, hospitals while 

At the moment we are in talks with one battery manufacturer but our business model will enable larger sales orders, which entails working with additional manufacturers to necessitate higher profit margins and/or a more cost-competitive product for additional market share. 

The first draft of the technology product we are adopting is already in use in some developed countries and have already been tested with a validation of its proof of concept process. These products aligns with our company’s concept and specific project requirements.

Our Solar Panels (polycrystalline and Mono-crystalline silicon panels) comprised of 550W-600W 144 half cells, 50W size 630*540*25mm, 285W size 1640*992*35mm, 300W size 1640*992* 35mm*25mm. This panels can either be placed on the roof top of buildings or in an open field. For efficiency, our technology also includes a lithium battery which is lighter weight and has twice the power to maintain high energy capacity.  

These lithium batteries are made up of 8pcs 48V150 connected in series, which has the capacity to store up to 57.6kwh . These batteries have a signal line that can be connected to obtain signals that will enable owners to read their battery data on their phone and computer. For safety, our system will include multimeter to test battery voltage before usage.

In the first year, we will have our station across anambra state, especially Onitsha and other cities like nnewi, Awka, ekwulobia and nanka. In two years, we will be in other major cities in southeast and Niger delta area. The cities in eastern region, has a combined population of 7,276,230 (Port Harcourt, Benin City, Aba, Enugu, Warri, Calabar, Uyo and Akure).  In five years, This solution will eventually serve 213.4 million Nigerians across different regions of the country.

The International Renewable Energy Agency’s (IRENA) recent report, which says that 86% of the companies in Nigeria own or share a generator while 84% of urban households power their homes withfossil diesel/ gasoline generators.

Nigerians spent $499.38 million dollars on importing back up fossil fuel emission generators between 2015-2019. In 2018 $207.99 million was spent; which accounted for the highest amount spent, while in 2016 $27.17 million dollars was spent, accounting for the lowest that was spent in this period.

We have set up a structure that is positioned to handle the technicalities , legal and any market barriers challenges that can arise in the cause of this project; however, we still need collaborations towards access to technology, logistical support. We will be committed to achieve or explore every opportunity that i can get with MIT SOLVE CHALLENGE.

Also, we are unable to fully manage and implement the challenges around  Moving products to new locations which require a certain amount of moving goods across borders. We are not establishing manufacturing base, meaning that for our campaigns to progress smoothly, there will be costs associated with purchasing and importing certain materials and goods from factories across different countries. To successfully implement our goal, we will need collaborations towards access to technology, logistical support and any other materials that makes our work easier.

We will provide basic electrification services to communities and potential electricity customers located in both remote and urban underserved settlements in anambra state, who are unlikely to be served with adequate electric supply in the foreseeable future. 

We provide pre grid electrification with alternative renewable energy sources which eliminates the huge capital cost of extending power lines over large distances to serve modest electricity demands.

We have designed an intervention that seek to improve access and usage of off grid green energy technologies across rural and urban communities in Nigeria. We will deploy solar panels, Hybrid inverters, lithium battery and then the meter to direct excess energy to the neighborhood for a fee.  

Benefactors can pay for systems in installments and also create new income through the ability to sale their excess energy to their neighbors.

with Our profit co-creating scheme for clients, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will still have access to clean renewable energy sources.

Our green solution, is made up of easy to use set up of lithium batteries that is made of 8pcs 48V150 connected in series, which has the capacity to store up to 57.6kwh . These batteries have a signal line that can be connected to obtain signals that will enable owners to read their battery data on their phone and computer. For safety, our system will include multimeter to test battery voltage before usage.

Our Solar Panels (polycrystalline and Mono-crystalline silicon panels) comprised of 550W-600W 144 half cells, 50W size 630*540*25mm, 285W size 1640*992*35mm, 300W size 1640*992* 35mm*25mm, can either be placed on the roof top of buildings or on an open field.

We will conduct a responsible and profitable business whose prime obligation will be to create an accessible and affordable service to all customers; including working towards building an African continent that adheres to the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on combating dangerous human interference with the climate structure.

We aim to provide a comprehensive access to green energy solutions whereby creating entrepreneurs who will mainly invest in renewable resources that provides the best possible opportunity for communities to access green renewable energy.

Our alternative green energy access initiative will aim to reach 213.4 million Nigerians across different regions in the first five years; however, The pilot phase, will target mainly onitsha which is because it is a city with one of the  world’s worst air, due to over-reliance on fossil-powered generators.

In the first two years, the company will be in operation in the cities in southeast and Niger delta area. The cities in eastern region, has a combined population of 7,276,230 (Port Harcourt, Benin City, Aba, Enugu, Onitsha, Warri, Calabar, Uyo and Akure).

Our solution represents a climate action to protect the ecosystem as well as reduce carbon emissions and its impacts on the environment. 

Our solution will substantially reduce carbon emissions through reducing the amount of reliance on greenhouse emission generators for power.This at the long run protects the ecosystem by reducing pollution across ecosystems and also save fast depleting climate conditions.

The immediate output of our solution will  be measured through notable reduction of global contribution to greenhouse emissions.  It will also create a new sustainable lifestyle that builds a boost to an economy through private green energy generation which affords green entrepreneurs to generate and supply their neighborhoods with renewable energy.

 In Nigeria, only well to do citizens which represent about 10% of the population are able to afford these technologies and because we understand the economic disparities in Nigeria we have structured a vetting and supply system that guarantees Ownership and access to green energy.

Our solution seeks to change the narrative by improving access and usage of off grid green energy technologies across rural and urban communities in Nigeria. To achieve this, We will deploy solar panels, Hybrid inverters, lithium battery and then the meter to direct excess energy to the neighborhood for a fee that goes to the owners of any of our systems.

Our systems is installed in a way that provides an income opportunity through which off grid energy generation investors will have the ability to sale excess energy to their neighbors, thus creating extra revenue for investors.

Access to off grid energy generation sources will be charged at a fee that is very affordable. Also , with a structured cost, whereby clients are given an installation payment package that is well spread out to accommodate consumers choice; we will create an improved access to off grid energy generation and storage systems which will aid the growth of our market base that will allow us build a large off grid energy distribution network.

According to World Bank, Nigeria has the largest energy deficit globally. About 85 million Nigerians (43% of the population) mostly rural settlements have no access to grid electricity.

As of 2022, Nigeria was the highest importer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and diesel generators in Africa. Nigerian households and businesses spend  $22 billion annually to fuel generators powering their homes and business. The collective capacity of these backup generators is eight times more than Nigerias entire national grid. Greenhouse gas emissions from generator usage in Nigeria is expected to rise from 11.9 million tons to 17.1 million by 2030.

 Our systems provides an income opportunity through which off grid energy generation investors can generate income by selling excess energy to their neighbors. With our profit co-creating scheme for clients,  investors in our solution will have the ability to sale excess energy to their neighbors. With this scheme, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will still be able to access clean energy sources.

Because of inadequate National Grid power generation, this solution will impact on every household because we will operate a system that will use our off grid energy network as a tool to provide clean electricity supply to every community we build a customer base.

We will deploy solar panels, Hybrid inverters, lithium battery and then the meter to direct access energy to the National grid. Our Solar Panels (mono-crystalline silicon) will be comprised of 550W-600W 144 half cells, 50W size 630*540*25mm, 285W size 1640*992*35mm, 300W size 1640*992* 35mm*25mm. This panels can either be placed on the roof top of buildings or in an open field.

Unlike lead acid batteries, lithium battery has lighter weight and has twice the power to maintain high energy capacity. With high discharge rate, it has up to 20 times longer cycle life , five times longer float/calendar life which in the long term reduces cost in ownership , as lithium batteries usually has reduced replacement cost. The phosphate chemistry in lithium iron batteries eliminates the risk of explosion or combustion that can emanate from overcharging or short circuit issues.

 Lithium batteries can also be applied for backup of UPS, Electric bikes, cars etc. for instance, we will also use the home systems for setting up cars charging spots on selected locations on the highway.  It will have different charging characteristics. New chargers will more than likely have the standard Type 2 charger and CHAdeMO for Rapid charging. different charging points offer different charging speeds and the size of your car’s battery will play a big part in how long it takes. We have these ballpark figures: • Slow (3kW to 6kW), which take eight to 12 hours on average to fully charge your car • Fast (7kW to 22kW), which take seven to eight hours to fully charge your car, with higher kW taking less time • Rapid (around 50kW), which can take less than an hour to boost your car’s power up to 80 per cent .

For an effective use of the solar and lithium batteries; Power inverters that convert Direct current from the battery to Alternating current that can be used to operate all sorts of devices is vital for these green energy systems. Inverters can be called AC Drives or VFD (Variable frequency drive) because it controls the speed of electric motors. Depending on the size of the green renewable home systems, INVERTERS will come with variations in capacity. These capacities range between 1.5kva/24v,1kva/12v,875va/12v,3.5kva/48v-,5kva/96v,7.5kva/120v.

Our core values of integrity, honesty, gender equality, innovation, ingenuity are dear to us. These distinct values are also mutually reinforcing and drives the culture at Niche Plug.

 We have a team that is will have a good spread of both men and women. Our work design  system of best practices is to build diverse teams with a culture of collaboration towards organizations overall goals. Every team, will have a good representation of the minority group in the society; women will be able to grow and attend senior leadership roles.

Some of the notable ways we will display this is during the recruitment processes, which is because we will use bias free recruitment practices which include using the right recruitment technologies, and communication which include diversity friendly jobs descriptions, blind interviewing, bias free recruitment.

Our team will be made up of committed professionals from different background, and we believe that honesty, integrity and fair play is the key to delivering sustainable benefits to our stakeholders.      

As a team, our organizational commitment to discrimination, harassment etc is clear; and to achieve this, we will organize constant training for employees on inclusion, respect, unconscious bias and anti discrimination etc.

The metrics we will use to keep track in monitoring and evaluation of programs will be measured by amount of discriminatory complaint reports, quarterly employee satisfaction surveys, job retention periods, population representation at all levels, disparities in payments and the overall production performance rate.

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This Social enterprise will apply a service subsidization model whereby we will provide energy consumers access to off grid energy generation at a structured cost, whereby consumers are given an installation payment package that is well spread out to accommodate consumers choice.

Our systems provides an income opportunity through which off grid energy generation investors can generate income by selling excess energy to their neighbors. With our profit co-creating scheme for clients,  investors in our solution will have the ability to sale excess energy to their neighbors. With this scheme, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will till be able to access clean energy sources.

According to World Bank, Nigeria has the largest energy deficit globally. About 85 million Nigerians (43% of the population) mostly rural settlements have no access to grid electricity. As of 2022, Nigeria was the highest importer of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and diesel generators in Africa. Nigerian households and businesses spend  $22 billion annually to fuel generators powering their homes and business. The collective capacity of these backup generators is eight times more than Nigerias entire national grid. Greenhouse gas emissions from generator usage in Nigeria is expected to rise from 11.9 million tons to 17.1 million by 2030.

Our solution seeks to change the narrative by improving access and usage to off grid green energy technologies across rural and urban communities in Nigeria. To achieve this, We will deploy solar panels, Hybrid inverters, lithium battery and then the meter to direct excess energy to the neighborhood for a fee that goes to the owners of any of our systems.

 Our systems provides an income opportunity through which off grid energy generation investors can generate income by selling excess energy to their neighbors. With our profit co-creating scheme for clients,  investors in our solution will have the ability to sale excess energy to their neighbors. With this scheme, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will  be able to access clean energy sources.

Because of inadequate National Grid power generation, this solution will impact on every household because we will operate a system that will use our off grid energy network at a tool to provide clean electricity supply to every community we build our customer base.

This Social enterprise will apply a service subsidization model whereby we will provide energy consumers access to off grid energy generation at a structured cost, whereby consumers are given an installation payment package that is well spread out to accommodate consumers choice.

We will seek funding in form of equity and concessionary dept capital from impact focused investors to fund the importation of solar panels, lithium batteries , semiconductor batteries, inverters.  The capital will be invested in capital expenditures and sites  development, hire initial employees, marketing expenses, expand our market share, develop logistics infrastructures which include acquisition of fleet trucks for products supply and a working capital to fund expenses during the first year.Our aim is to to build an infrastructure that can make access to renewable energy sources more efficient and affordable.

Our systems provides an income opportunity through which off grid energy generation investors can generate income by selling excess energy to their neighbors. With our profit co-creating scheme for clients,  investors in our solution will have the ability to sale excess energy to their neighbors. With this scheme, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will still be able to access clean energy sources.

Because of inadequate National Grid power generation, this solution will impact on every household because we will operate a system that will use our off grid energy network at a tool to provide clean electricity supply to every community we build our customer base.

This Social enterprise will apply a service subsidization model to improve access and usage of off grid green energy technologies across rural and urban communities in Nigeria. We will deploy solar panels, Hybrid inverters, lithium battery and then the meter to direct excess energy to the neighborhood for a fee.  

Our green solution, is made up of easy to use set up of lithium batteries that is made of 8pcs 48V150 connected in series, which has the capacity to store up to 57.6kwh . These batteries have a signal line that can be connected to obtain signals that will enable owners to read their battery data on their phone and computer. For safety, our system will include multimeter to test battery voltage before usage.

We will create a profit co-creating scheme which will enable clients unable to afford the off grid green energy systems to be able to access clean energy sources. By this, we will partner with small and mid-size businesses, homes, schools, hospitals.

Our systems provides an income opportunity through which off grid energy generation investors can generate income by selling excess energy to their neighbors. With our profit co-creating scheme for clients,  investors in our solution will have the ability to sale excess energy to their neighbors. With this scheme, those unable to afford the off grid green energy systems will still be able to access clean energy sources.

Also , we have also developed a strong communication strategy that ensures that our project results are well documented to capture large audience. The effects of our solutions can be accessible to several donors; which will bring a structured long term partnership with diversified donors base. Stakeholders and donors will be carried along with our program reports, as the core of our work, will prioritize community advocacy to include sensitization on the dangers of greenhouse pollution, local groups and Community involvement and a well representation of minority groups at various stages of the solution.