PowerUp Joins ZE-Gen International Innovation Programme Showcasing Clean Energy in New African Partnership

April 2025 – March 2026

PowerUp Off-Grid Services is proud to announce that it is joining ZE-Gen’s international initiative to bring to life cutting-edge renewable energy innovations, designed to leapfrog reliance on highly polluting fossil fuel generators and deliver economic, health, and environmental benefits.

PowerUp has received grant funding to develop one of six new ZE-Gen ‘Demonstrator’ projects which are expected to create both local and international economic opportunities and enable a better quality of life for people and businesses in locations where access to reliable energy is limited or non-existent.

The ZEBRAS project in Nigeria is one of six new ZE-Gen Demonstrator projects that are being brought to life through new collaborations across Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and the UK, as part of ZE-Gen’s groundbreaking international initiative after securing part of £4.84m funding via Innovate UK, on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. This particular cohort of projects, including ZEBRAS, commenced in April 2025, following additional funding allocations.

PowerUp is honored to collaborate alongside MEP Technologies, Nevadic, The Washing Machine Project, and SKRUM, all united by the common goal of revolutionising energy access and improving lives. This initiative introduces a smart, battery-based energy distribution system that addresses the limitations of the grid, which is a 100-year-old approach to moving kW’s and is increasingly becoming the main bottleneck to achieving net-zero and ensuring energy security.

While removing reliance on polluting fossil fuel generators and empowering remote or low-income communities in regions like Nigeria, India, and even parts of the UK remains a core focus, this flexible approach also accelerates the electrification of transport and non-road machinery even in areas considered to be well served by the grid. By offering a readily available and mobile energy supply, ZEBRAS bypasses the constraints of static infrastructure.

“I am thrilled that ZEBRAS is joining the ZE-Gen Demonstrator programme having secured funding from Innovate UK on behalf of the UK Department of for Energy Security and Net Zero,” says Adam Wallis, Co-Founder at PowerUp. “The energy-as-a-service model simplifies power access, eliminating the traditional burdens of energy ownership and maintenance. This collaborative effort demonstrates PowerUp’s commitment to creating a more sustainable, affordable, and secure energy future for a wide range of applications, paving the way for a faster transition to a net-zero economy and energy security.”

To date, ZE-Gen has catalysed £39.75m as part of its efforts to create jobs, power businesses, and tackle climate change by ending the use of fossil fuel generators. With support from the IKEA Foundation and the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund, ZE-Gen has brought to life more than 35 localised renewable energy projects across Cote d’Ivoire, Fiji, Malawi, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa, and Uganda.

Dr James Coombes O’Brien, ZE-Gen lead at Innovate UK said: “Taking innovations out of the lab and demonstrating how cutting-edge technology can create clean energy in real world situations in place of fossil fuel generators is something we’re delighted ZE-Gen can bring to life. By being a ZE-Gen Demonstrator, PowerUp is joining a leading international programme and contributing to ZE-Gen’s collaborative work to benefit people and boost economic growth in the UK and internationally.”

Lily Beadle, ZE-Gen lead at the Carbon Trust said: “Taking renewable energy concepts out of the lab and putting them into action in the real world is crucial to ensure innovations meet the needs of local communities, perform well and can be developed to be commercially attractive. Collaboration, partnerships and localisation are at the heart of ZE-Gen and we’re looking forward to supporting these exciting Demonstrator projects come to life in communities.”

Globally, around 1.5 billion people don’t have access to reliable electricity. It is estimated that 25 million, highly polluting, fossil fuel generators are in use across emerging economies, resulting in huge financial, social and environmental costs.[1] Associated health risks include premature death, lung cancer, hearing impairment and numerous other problems. High carbon emissions can also hold back countries’ efforts to meet their climate goals, and the high running costs of fossil fuel generators can reduce finance available for business, healthcare and education.

Despite being home to two-thirds of the world’s population, emerging economies only account for 15% of global clean energy investment – with homes and businesses facing frequent blackouts that can last for weeks at a time, negatively impacting daily lives and business income.

ZE-Gen’s unique approach tackles market barriers to renewable energy-based alternatives to fossil fuel generators by uniting innovation, finance and skills to drive competitive market growth. The successful implementation of these Demonstrator projects will help develop new international markets, opening economic opportunities over the coming years.

Background Information:

ZE-Gen For more information please contact: ze-gen@carbontrust.com Visit the ZE-Gen programme website – https://www.ze-gen.org

Launched at COP27, ZE-Gen, is the leading international initiative working to improve the lives of people across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region by driving the use of renewable energy in place of polluting fossil fuel generators.

ZE-Gen is a collaborative initiative by the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK and has an ambition to mobilise £100m of funding to inspire action and implement real-world change, delivered in partnership with sector specialists.

The Carbon Trust leads on ZE-Gen’s policy, research, outreach and strategy, with input and oversight across the whole ZE-Gen programme. This includes bringing partners together and engaging with the public and private sector to identify new opportunities and providing commercialisation support such as investment readiness, market engagement, strategy & sales and product/service development.

Innovate UK is responsible for delivering grant funding to advance renewable technology through the ZE-Gen Innovation Fund.

About the Ayrton Fund The UK Government announced the Ayrton Fund commitment of up to £1bn for clean energy innovation at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019. It is part of the total £11.6bn of UK International Climate Finance also announced over the period from 2021 to 2026. The vision of the Ayrton Fund is to help drive forward the clean energy transition in developing countries, by creating and demonstrating new technologies and business models to deploy them. It will demonstrate UK