Power for a whole trading centre, built around what people do with it.
We build and run solar minigrids and energy hubs in Malawi. A minigrid gives households and businesses metered, prepaid power. The energy hubs around it turn that power into income through e-mobility, battery rental, solar irrigation, milling and agri-processing. We design, build, operate and maintain them from our Lilongwe operations centre.
Why a minigrid
Connections now, not after the grid arrives
A minigrid can connect a trading centre within months, without waiting years for grid extension to reach it.
Power that earns its keep
We plan productive use from the first day: mills, irrigation, cold storage and e-mobility. Those loads use the daytime solar, give businesses a reason to connect and keep the system viable.
Run like infrastructure
Smart meters, remote monitoring and a local field team mean we see every kilowatt-hour and every customer, and we can fix problems before they become outages.
One plant, one network, every customer metered
Solar generation and battery storage sit in a central power house. A low-voltage network carries the power to homes, shops and workshops, and each connection has a prepaid smart meter that we can read and manage remotely.
Solar PV
Ground-mounted array sized to the community's daytime demand and its growth.
Battery and inverter
Battery storage carries the evening peak and the night. The hybrid inverter keeps the supply stable.
Local network
A low-voltage network built by Malawian contractors under our design and quality sign-off.
Prepaid smart meters
Customers buy power in advance. We read meters remotely, manage limits and follow how the grid is used.
Energy hubs: productive use, built in
Our nine energy hubs in Malawi are solar-powered service points that sell what electricity makes possible, not just electricity.
E-mobility
Electric motorbikes and bicycles, charged on site, for transport businesses and daily travel.
Battery rental
Charged batteries for homes and small businesses beyond the reach of the network.
Solar irrigation
Pumping that lets farmers grow through the dry season.
Milling & agri-processing
Electric milling and processing in place of diesel, close to where the crop is grown.
Our first minigrid
Lundu Trading Centre is our first minigrid: a solar plant with battery storage, a low-voltage network and metered connections for households and businesses. Its power house is also the trading centre's energy hub shop. Lundu is our showcase for how minigrids can connect communities faster and more cheaply than grid extension.
40 kWp
50 kW / 100 kWh
Prepaid smart-metered
Let's connect the next trading centre.
If you are planning rural electrification, a minigrid programme or a productive-use project, we would like to hear from you. We bring the design, the build and the operating organisation.
C/O Mesh, Tordenskiolds gate 2
0160 Oslo, Norway
+47 481 40 184
contact@differ.solar