12  research groups get N12 million ACE-SPED seed grants at UNN

The World Bank’s Africa Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Power and Energy Development, ACE-SPED, has given N12 million seed grants to 12 student research groups at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN.

The Director of ACE-SPED, Prof. Emenike Ejiogu, while briefing journalists during the award ceremony at UNN on Tuesday said that the award was for selected UNN students research teams who have generated innovative and entrepreneurship ideas for sustainable energy and power development. He said that the 12 research areas showed significant commercialization prospects and  would create  solutions to address energy and power problems in 

the  African sub-region. 

Prof. Ejiogu, who is also the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, UNN, equally said that the principal aim of the ACE-SPED Innovation Seed Grants is to provide monetary backing for research endeavours that correspond with the innovation objectives of the Centre, specifically in domains like electric power system development, renewable energy, waste-to-energy conversion, energy conservation,  management, resource assessment and forecasting, and sustainable energy.

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He further said that the selected research groups would be monitored and provided with further funding to enable them grow into businesses and companies if they scale through future competitions.

“The ACE-SPED is not just a theoretical centre of research. By our mandate, we also engage students and staff in issues such as entrepreneurship and innovation. As part of that mandate, we instituted a university wide competition for UNN students  and asked them to come up with entrepreneural and innovative ideas that can be seeded to grow into businesses.

“After rigorous processes of accepting the written proposals, and shortlisting those who were interviewed, we looked at certain criteria such as the possibility of commercialisation of the ideas and the prospects of solving societal problems. Out of many proposals, 12 research groups scaled through and would be awarded N1 million naira each. We would monitor the implementation of the research ideas with the hope of turning them into businesses to create employment and solve energy problems in Africa,” he explained.

Also in his reaction, the Industrial Liaison Officer, ACE-SPED, UNN, Prof. Victor Aigbodian, said that the major preoccupation of the Centre is to provide sustainable power in Africa, adding that it has produced wastes-power gasification plant which can generate mini grids to power the country if Federal Government provides the needed support.

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He bemoaned lack of proper  awareness in renewable energy in Africa despite the abundance of natural resources to facilitate its production, adding that there would be results from the winners of the students research grants within the next six months.

Some of the award recipients including Amuche Eze, of Biochemistry Department whose group would be working on Bioethanol Production from Agro wastes, and  Chibuike Okorie, of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department (Portable Solar Generator) lauded the Centre for funding their researches, pledging to provide sustainable solutions to Nigeria’s energy crisis.