In Ghana, a new green technology to generate electricity from discarded cocoa pod husks is set to benefit African farming communities currently with little or no access to grid power. The project, led by the University of Nottingham, aims to spawn an entirely new bio-fuel industry that would also improve socio-economic stability for cocoa producers in rural Ghana.
“Ghana is the second highest producer of cocoa in the world and every ton of cocoa beans harvested generates 10 tons of cocoa pod husks. In the past, this waste material was underutilized,” explains principal investigator, Jo Darkwa, Professor of Energy Storage Technologies in the Faculty of Engineering.
“However, feasibility studies indicate that cocoa pod husks could be converted into valuable bio-fuels; an important energy supply for rural areas that have only 15 per cent electricity coverage at present. If successful, this new bio-energy infrastructure would support the Ghanaian government’s aim for universal access to electricity by 2030.”