- The innovative project WAGA Power Pack involved recycling laptop batteries to provide reliable and affordable power for electric bikes, power banks, solar lights, businesses and homes.
- WAGA Power Packs provide power to the home, emits zero carbon into the environment, and allow businesses to keep operating after sundown
A Tanzanian innovation by Gibson Kawago, a Tanzania engineer, has made it to the UK Royal Academy of Engineering shortlist of the 2023 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The innovative project WAGA Power Pack involved recycling laptop batteries to provide reliable and affordable power for electric bikes, power banks, solar lights, businesses and homes. It responds to Tanzania’s unreliable electricity supply and its impact on the economy, safety and health.
The Tanzania engineer makes his WAGA Power Pack with recycled batteries bought from informal waste collectors, including women and youth, in five regions in Tanzania. The recycled battery pack is enclosed in an aluminium case with ports that can be connected to inverters, solar lamps and other chargers. The WAGA Power Pack Pro can be recharged for up to three hours and shows when the pack needs charging.
Kawago, the Tanzania engineer, buys commercial battery management systems connected to a mobile app to enable users to monitor battery performance from their mobile devices. Next, he aims to start manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, allowing him to make different size battery packs. In his comments, he said: “WAGA Power Packs provides power to homes, emits zero carbon into the environment, and allows businesses to keep operating after sundown. Depending on the size of the battery and its purpose, it can provide electricity for anywhere from 13 hours to one month”.