Across Nigeria, many thousands of traders selling frozen products grapple daily with the consequences of unreliable electricity. Poorly maintained power grid infrastructure and frequent outages mean more than inconvenience – to small business owners, they represent devastating inventory losses, damaged equipment, and shrinking profits. As a result, many rely on generators fuelled by diesel as a back-up source of power, creating a financial burden that can consume up to 40% of the operating costs of a small business, whilst exacerbating local air pollution, neighbourhood noise and greenhouse gas emissions.
Founded in 1998, Hinckley Associates is well-established as a leading e-waste recycler in Nigeria. As part of its recently completed PREO-funded project, the company has developed second life lithium battery packs to power fridge freezers in Nigeria’s cold chain sector. It has been working alongside Quadloop, a local engineering firm and partner since 2019, on repurposing lithium cells recovered from Lumos solar systems, with input on design from professors and students at Carnegie Mellon University.
Commencing in April 2023 with £170,000 of PREO funding, Hinckley Associates launched the Integrated Battery Solar Refrigeration (IBSR) project to deliver reliable, cost-effective refrigeration to the extensive network of resellers supplied by Fan Milk – a leading Nigerian dairy manufacturer and Danone subsidiary. While Hinckley has partnered with Fan Milk since 2018 to provide fridge recycling services across its cold chain, this project specifically targets freelance resellers. These vendors purchase Fan Milk products to sell to consumers or retailers, and their profitability can be significantly boosted by access to dependable refrigeration.
To validate the system’s performance, Hinckley conducted real-world testing of its second-life battery solution through to April 2024. This phase aimed to quantify energy savings, assess financial benefits for resellers, and evaluate environmental impact. The findings not only confirmed the system’s viability but also offered valuable insights into its potential for wider deployment. To explore the project’s outcomes, implementation challenges, and broader economic implications, PREO recently sat down with Hinckley’s Managing Director, Adrian Clews.
1. Can you provide an overview of the main objective of this project, and how PREO funding was used to progress it?
Our ISBR project addresses the challenges faced by small resellers in Nigeria who rely on refrigeration to sell frozen products but typically lose stock during grid power outages or suffer equipment damage from power fluctuations. To reduce spoilage rates of their products, many rely on expensive and polluting diesel generators as a source of back-up power for their refrigeration units.
PREO funding enabled us to develop and deploy our second life battery system, which combines solar panels with recycled batteries to provide reliable renewable energy for refrigeration. We tested these systems with Fan Milk resellers, gathering performance data to refine the technology and prepare for scaling. The solution is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly, significantly reducing dependence on grid electricity and fossil fuels by cold chain businesses.
2. What motivated you to launch the IBSR project, particularly focusing on using second-life batteries for refrigeration solutions in Nigeria?
The project was motivated by a clear understanding of the unsustainable financial strain on small businesses operating with unreliable or expensive electricity. Many resellers are located in areas where the grid is either non-existent or highly unreliable. With diesel prices rising 85% to USD $0.94 per litre following the removal of fuel subsidies in Nigeria in 2023, most have seen their already tight margins squeezed yet further.
So, we joined forces with Quadloop, Fan Milk, and Carnegie Mellon University to create an innovative solution. Using second life batteries delivers two key benefits: reducing electronic waste while providing an economically viable energy solution for businesses without the high upfront costs of new batteries.
Our circular economy approach repurposes lithium batteries from discarded Lumos solar packs – approximately 50% of tested batteries were reusable, significantly reducing system costs since batteries are typically the most expensive component. We developed three prototypes, and whilst the first did not generate sufficient power, the second and third versions worked as expected. We deployed the second life battery systems at reseller sites for field testing, conducting regular monitoring to improve performance informed by data on energy consumption, temperature regulation, and system reliability.
During the monitoring phase, the team paid particular attention to the practical challenges faced by the resellers. Feedback from the field was invaluable in making iterative improvements to the system. For instance, adjustments were made to enhance battery efficiency and ensure consistent power supply, addressing issues related to power fluctuations and refrigerator failures.
3. Data collection proved to be a challenge during the project’s deployment. Could you share more about the difficulties faced in this area and how you overcame them?
Data collection was definitely one of our greatest challenges. Initially targeting eleven shops, we often encountered inaccurate and incomplete reporting on energy consumption, fuel usage, and revenue data – making it difficult to draw reliable conclusions about the system’s impact, particularly in terms of cost savings and operational efficiency.
We addressed this by focusing on just three shops capable of providing accurate data, then ultimately concentrating on a single shop as our primary monitoring site. This narrower focus, combined with better training for field researchers on proper tracking methods, ensured more precise data on energy savings, cost reductions, and operational improvements. Though scaling back on test sites wasn’t our original plan, it yielded more reliable data for assessing the true impact of our solar refrigeration system.
4. Despite these challenges, the project has made significant progress. What are some of the key achievements you’re most proud of?
We’re incredibly proud of several key achievements. First and foremost, the successful deployment of the second life battery system has demonstrated that solar-powered refrigeration is not only technically viable, but can provide a reliable and sustainable energy solution for small businesses operating in regions with grid instability.
Lastly, our learnings and data now indicate that the second life battery system could scale to thousands of resellers across Nigeria. This scalability potential is perhaps our greatest achievement as it demonstrates the far-reaching impact within our grasp.
5. What are the concrete outcomes for resellers, and how do you plan to scale this project to benefit more businesses?
Field testing demonstrated significant benefits for resellers in terms of energy reliability and operational efficiency. The most immediate outcome for resellers has been significant cost savings. For example, our primary partner saved approximately $129 monthly through their initial system, experiencing even greater savings when multiple units were installed.
Beyond financial benefits, resellers experienced fewer product losses due to refrigeration failures, enhanced product quality from consistent freezing temperatures, improved customer satisfaction, higher sales, and a reduction in vexatious noise pollution by eliminating diesel generators.
With over 12,000 resellers in Fan Milk’s network across Nigeria, the scaling potential is substantial. As production costs have reduced, refrigerator conversions now cost approximately $415 per unit – with the price including enclosure, power kit, two sets of 115w solar panels and the management system for the 3111Whr battery – which makes the investment increasingly feasible for small business owners. We’re continuing to partner with Fan Milk to expand deployment throughout Nigeria, with plans to eventually extend to other regions facing similar energy challenges.
Overall, the success of the second life battery system stems from our commitment to innovation and sustainability when addressing critical energy challenges. As such, it offers a pathway towards more environmentally friendly refrigeration solutions that also improve the livelihoods of Nigerian traders.
6. What are the key lessons learned from this project that other companies in the sector can apply to their own initiatives?
We identified five critical lessons applicable across other companies and sectors, particularly those working in sustainable energy and cold chain management.
- Data integrity is fundamental: We learned to prioritise quality over quantity in data collection, focusing on fewer reliable sources rather than numerous inconsistent ones. Inconsistent or inaccurate data undermined our ability to demonstrate impact, given reliable data is essential for informed decision-making and successful scaling.
- Adaptability drives success: The ability to evolve our approach in response to challenges with data collection was key, alongside flexibility in project management which enabled us to overcome unforeseen obstacles.
- Stakeholder engagement ensures relevance: Open communication with resellers, field researchers, and partners helped tailor our solution to local needs and build consumer trust. This retrenched the buy-in of the resellers, which is crucial for long-term adoption.
- Technology viability fuels adoption: The second life battery system outperformed both traditional refrigerators and existing solar solutions, demonstrating that recycled components can deliver superior performance. The system’s higher freezing efficiency and reliability will prove critical for more widespread adoption.
- Design for scalability: We were able to demonstrate that, with the right approach, solar-powered refrigeration can scale across large networks. In fact, we are now running a commercial pilot across Fan Milk’s reseller network in Accra, Ghana. As we continue to make progress, ensuring the technology become more affordable and accessible will be vital for broader adoption, so that more businesses can benefit from our solution.