LONDON, April 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — NextGen Nano Limited, the UK company developing transparent organic solar and display technologies, today announced plans for a pilot agrivoltaics initiative in West Africa using its PolyPower™ transparent organic solar film technology.
The pilot project is intended to demonstrate how PolyPower™ can combine food and energy production within greenhouse and tunnel structures, enabling climate-controlled agriculture while generating renewable electricity in off-grid and energy-constrained environments.
A key objective of the initiative is to explore whether agrivoltaic greenhouse systems can enable reliable cultivation of nutrient-dense crops such as amaranth, African nightshade, cowpea leaves, spider plant, moringa and kale, while also supporting cooling, refrigeration and wider community energy needs where electricity supply remains limited, expensive, unreliable or dependent on diesel-powered generators.
By enabling more reliable cultivation of these crops, the pilot will also assess whether agrivoltaic greenhouse systems can help improve dietary diversity and reduce nutrition-related health burdens, particularly among children. These leafy vegetables are valued for their contribution to vitamin A and iron intake. The World Health Organization identifies vitamin A deficiency as the world’s leading preventable cause of childhood blindness and a contributor to increased mortality from common infections, while iron deficiency is the most common nutritional cause of anaemia and can impair children’s physical and cognitive development.
The project will also evaluate potential applications in medical cold-chain infrastructure, including the storage of vaccines, medicines and other temperature-sensitive supplies in clinics, health posts and community facilities.
Alongside its potential public health benefits, the initiative is expected to support local employment, skills development, and more resilient energy access in underserved regions.
If successful, the pilot could provide the foundation for a highly replicable development model that combines food production, distributed renewable energy, and cooling infrastructure. NextGen Nano is laying the groundwork to replicate this model globally and is targeting the deployment of up to £300 million of projects over the next five years, working in partnership with governments, development banks, major agricultural groups and private investors.
The opportunity is supported by powerful structural demand drivers. The World Bank projects Africa’s food and agribusiness market could reach $1 trillion by 2030, while nearly 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa still lack access to electricity, creating a significant opportunity for scalable integrated infrastructure solutions.
The initiative is being developed with regional partners and a leading European applied solar energy research institution with recognised expertise in bridging advanced photovoltaic innovation and industrial deployment.
Dr Sagar Jain, Head of Strategic Partnerships at NextGen Nano, said:
“This initiative demonstrates how cutting-edge European and US technologies can directly contribute to raising living standards in underserved regions. By combining advanced transparent organic solar materials with climate-controlled agriculture and energy systems, we believe agrivoltaic platforms like this can unlock entirely new deployment models for sustainable development worldwide.”
For more information, visit: https://nextgen-nano.co.uk/
About NextGen Nano
- NextGen Nano revolutionises energy harvesting and display technologies, with cutting-edge solutions in solar and OLED innovations.
- Their applications span from greenhouse rooftops to smart mobility and advanced display systems.
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