Zipline International Inc. – the world’s largest autonomous delivery system, specialising in on-demand drone delivery and instant logistics – is an American company that designs, manufactures, and operates delivery drones. The company operates distribution centres in Rwanda, Ghana, Japan, the United States, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, and Kenya.
In 2022, Zipline launched in Nigeria to begin medical logistics deliveries to remote hospitals and medical facilities in Kaduna State (Nigeria), an area with one of the world’s highest rates of children who have never received a vaccine. Kaduna is also a region with limited access to electricity from the national grid.
Zipline needed to find a reliable power source to ensure 24/7 deliveries in the area. But the closest functional power lines were 60 miles away from Zipline’s distribution centre in Kaduna State.
Rather than risk a long-term, unreliable connection to the grid, the team explored a greener option – solar. It turned to Konexa (a Renewable Energy company) to deploy a solar power plant to serve Zipline, which led the company to explore other ways to provide power to the communities in the area.
“Since we’ve developed this solution for Zipline, we’ve also deployed solar and battery-powered mesh grids that are providing reliable energy access to 340 households in the surrounding community, benefiting approximately 1,700 people, and five primary health care facilities”, says Quresh Shakir, who leads business investments and developments in Africa for Konexa.
These mesh grids enable residents in the area to share power, explains Sa’ad Kamal-deen, who oversees Konexa’s solar grid in Nigeria. “Each house has a rooftop solar and battery installation, connected to a local mesh grid that allows houses to form power-sharing clusters,” he explains. “This means any excess energy produced by a house is efficiently routed to surrounding houses.”
By the first week in July 2023, Zipline’s Kaduna State distribution center transitioned to solar power. Since then, its more than 12,000 deliveries have been powered by 100% renewable energy.
Also in 2023, Zipline’s distribution center in Cross River, Nigeria, became fully solar powered.
Read the full report: Creating an energy infrastructure in Nigeria
BACKGROUND
Access to sustainable energy is a problem across Nigeria. According to the World Bank, Nigeria has the largest energy deficit in the world, with 85 million Nigerians—43% percent of the country’s population—who can’t access grid electricity.