Empowering Africa’s Renewable Energy Future with Smart Grid Solutions

The Challenge

Malawi’s electricity grid faced major instability, leading to:

Grid Reliability Risks – Voltage fluctuations and frequency instability caused frequent load-shedding, cutting industrial productivity by 12%.
Limited Renewable Integration – Weak grid infrastructure led to 15% renewable curtailment, reducing overall plant efficiency.
High Energy Costs & Losses – Poor load management drove operational costs higher, with transmission losses up by 7%.
Compliance Hurdles – Difficulty in meeting grid code standards resulted in rising penalties (+4.5% annually).

SgurrEnergy’s Solution

As a global leader in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and renewable energy engineering, we partnered with Malawi’s utility provider to deliver a 20MW/30MWh BESS in Lilongwe.

Advanced Battery Technology – High-efficiency Lithium-Ion solutions with LFP & NMC chemistries provided 92% round-trip efficiency. Integrated Battery Management System reduced thermal incidents by 25% and extended system lifespan.
Thermal Management – Custom cooling ensured performance in Malawi’s hot, humid climate, reducing degradation by 18%.
Grid Integration & Optimization –
- Bidirectional inverters improved energy delivery by 10%.
- Power Conversion Systems (PCS) with transformers optimized 400V-690V to 33kV conversion, cutting transmission losses by 5.3%.
- Harmonic mitigation ensured compliance with IEEE 519, reducing distortion by 40%.

This project proves how smart grid solutions and energy storage can transform Africa’s renewable landscape—enhancing resilience, reducing costs, and enabling reliable integration of solar PV and wind energy.