\tFirst microgrid\u00a0on campus<\/p>\n
After graduating and getting his first taste of industry, Asare applied in 2021 to join the newly created Ashesi\u2013ETH Master in Mechatronic Engineering. Established to edu\u00adcate the next generation of African engineers, this\u00a0programme\u00a0is run by academic staff from Ghana and Switzerland, with key input from Swiss industry partners. Asare received a scholarship from the chocolate manufacturer Barry Callebaut, a company based in Zurich that sources most of its cocoa from Ghana.<\/p>\n
It was while looking for a topic for his thesis in 2023 that Asare came across\u00a0Lygeros\u2019 Master\u2019s project. At the time, Ashesi University was drawing up plans for a new building, along with an\u00a0additional\u00a0power supply. This would create the perfect living lab to put a microgrid through its paces in Ghana \u2013 far removed from the safety net of the Swiss national grid. \u201cWe wanted to find out how big the micro\u00adgrid would need to be,\u201d Asare explains, \u201cand whether the investment would pay off.\u201d Compared to Europe, interest rates on loans are significantly higher in Ghana, which increases the lifetime cost of the installation.<\/p>\n
After a succession of online meetings,\u00a0Lygeros\u00a0finally made the trip to Ghana in 2024 to meet up with Asare in person and get a feel for the situation on the ground. \u201cIn the evenings, we\u2019d pop to the next village for a drink and often end up sitting in the dark because the power had gone off,\u201d says\u00a0Lygeros. Back on Ashesi campus, diesel generators would spring to life and fill the gap. \u201cBut that\u2019s very expensive in the long term,\u201d explains\u00a0Lygeros. \u201cSo microgrids also offer an attractive option for Africa from an economic perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asare\u00a0teamed up with a fellow student named Goodnews\u00a0Iduku\u00a0to\u00a0analyse\u00a0what equipment and capital expenditure it would take to boost the share of photovoltaic power on campus from 13 to 60 percent of total power supply. \u201cIt was amazing just how committed the two of them were,\u201d\u00a0Lygeros\u00a0recalls. \u201cWe\u2019d\u00a0discuss quite complex problems, and often they came back to me with suggestions just a few days later. I wondered sometimes if the two of them ever slept!\u201d<\/p>\n
Their dedication paid off: when it came to designing the power supply for the new facility, the university administration drew on the work carried out by the two students.\u00a0What\u2019s\u00a0more, Asare was asked to stay on as a research assistant for\u00a0an\u00adother\u00a0ten months after finishing his studies. Alongside photovoltaic panels and batteries, the new system also features various sensors and smart meters to\u00a0monitor\u00a0the microgrid\u2019s performance. \u201cThis data will generate important know-how for the creation of further microgrids in Africa,\u201d\u00a0Lygeros\u00a0explains.<\/p>\n
Asare\u2019s doctoral project in Zurich has further intensified collaboration with his professor. \u201cI\u2019m sure the knowledge he gains here will be put to good use back in Ghana,\u201d\u00a0Lygeros\u00a0notes. \u201cAnd that\u2019s his primary concern: whether what he learns at ETH can be applied to what\u2019s happening in Ghana.\u201d Asked about his\u00a0future plans, Asare responds that he will go wherever his work has the biggest impact: \u201cIf I were to develop\u00a0a new technology\u00a0in Eur\u00adope, it would\u00a0probably only\u00a0marginally improve people\u2019s lives. But in Africa, there are lots of problems that my knowledge can help solve.\u201d<\/p>\n