Welcome to Dr Francis Otieno, who is our guest for the seventh episode of our TEA Breaks series. Francis is a physicist and lecturer at Maseno University, whose background growing up with unreliable electricity in Kisumu (Kenya) ignited a passion for next-generation solar. Chantal Bideleux, Project Officer for TEA@SUNRISE and REACH-PSM, talks to Francis about his personal journey, how the new SOLACE project is developing local African solar technologies, and why we need to be better at communicating next-generation solar to the communities who need it.
‘TEA Breaks’ is a series where we chat to our experts on the TEA@SUNRISE project about Transforming Energy Access (TEA) and next-generation solar. Join us for 10-20 minutes with a cup of tea (or beverage of your choice) as we discuss the challenges and opportunities of renewable energy transitions.
Transcript:
Chantal Bideleux (CB): So welcome to today’s TEA@SUNRISE TEA Break, a series where we talk about transforming energy access and next-generation solar with our TEA@SUNRISE network experts. And today – this is the seventh in the series – and today we are joined by Dr Francis Otieno from Maseno University who’s a physicist and his specialism is on next-generation solar and device fabrication.
He’s also a key and vibrant member of our TEA@SUNRISE network and projects. And we are due to be working together with the new SOLACE project. He’s the Co-lead on our new SOLACE project, which he’ll be talking about shortly.
And I’d like to also explore with Francis his personal story of growing up with unreliable energy access in Kenya and how that’s helped shape his passions for next-generation solar and his career in this area.
Q1: Can you tell us about your background and expertise?
CB: So I think that leads me nicely on to ask my first question, Francis. And a warm welcome. Thank you for joining us today.
Francis Otieno (FO): Thank you so much.
CB: So my first question is around your background and your expertise. Can you tell us a bit more about this?
FO: Thank you so much Chantal for having me at this TEA@SUNRISE network talk. And as I must say I’m from Maseno University, we are located in Kenya, the western part of Kenya. And we are happy to be part of this network conversation that I think is highly needed in our community.
So like you say, you put it quite well. My name is Francis Otieno and I’m a physicist. So I first trained as a teacher to teach physics and mathematics in Kenya. And then I moved to South Africa where I did my master’s in physics. And majorly it was on renewable energy where I concentrated on thin-film energy technology, which comes with what we call the third-generation solar cell which comprises of perovskites, organic solar cells, and the dye-sensitised solar cells. And of course, there’s a bit of incorporation of nanotechnology to make nanomaterials, which are incorporated into these materials to make them perform better.
And then of course, I did the same, almost similar thing, I proceeded to do a PhD on the same area. And then after that, so I moved back to Kenya, where I took a position of lecturer at Maseno University.
Q2: How has your background shaped your career and passion for next-generation solar energy?
CB: So, Francis, I wanted to ask you about how your background growing up in Kenya without, reliable access to electricity has shaped your career and your passion for, next generation solar energy?
FO: My background, if I’m to talk about background, is a long one, but I’ll try to make it shorter. I was born and raised up in Kenya, and in the village setup. So, we come from the western part of Kenya, which is Kisumu. And, when we were growing up, of course, access to electricity was not something that is usual. We would use the, what we call, paraffin lamp. So you’ll have the paraffin, put them in a container, and then the way in which you light them, and that will be the source of light. And that means that every day it had to be filled, and because you do not have enough money to buy this, it’s something that you do on a daily basis. So, mum comes from work, casual labourer, and then you have to buy this in the evening. So you have to walk a few kilometres to get this, and that’s how you’ll get your light in the evening.
So this was more or less, a challenge, but also a motivation that one day you might use this and see a change of things, that the next generation or our children should not go through the same, but should have a universal access to electricity. And energy in general, whether it’s whatever aspect of energy that you want, it should be something that is accessible to everybody, regardless of whether you are staying in the village or you’re in the town.
So, I think, to me, my setup, I don’t look at it as a challenge as such, I see it as a motivation and an inspiration to work towards this, and that’s why I’m always motivated that whatever I went through, nobody else should go through. And people should have access to energy and be able to be productive in the society.
CB: Thank you, Francis, and I like the way that you framed that as, like you said, people could just see it as a hardship and a challenge, but you’ve tried to, you know, channel that into your passion and motivation for having you know, reliable access to electricity and sustainable energy.
Q3: Can you tell us about the SOLACE project?
CB: So I think this kind of leads me on nicely to talk about your role in the SOLACE project and what you think that would bring to helping transform energy access and next generation solar and what – this project Francis and I are going to be working on together. It’s due to start in April. If you could just tell me a little bit about the project and what you’re most excited about and what benefits it could bring, including benefits to Kenya.
FO: So ideally, a cost-effective, I will not call it cheap, but a cost-effective supply or source of energy. And of course to employ the modern technology of using let’s say the thin film technology so that our solar cell devices can be locally manufactured with the latest technology. That means that highly efficient devices can be derived from them.
So when we met at …of course most of the SOLACE involves four countries. So there is Kenya which has got 2 institutions in the SOLACE project. There is Rwanda, which is bringing their expertise on simulation of the devices and materials. And then there is Tanzania, which is also bringing another set of expertise into the project. And then we have our key PIs which are based in Swansea, which are of course are having advanced characterization techniques that we need to develop these kinds of devices.
So here is a case where we have people with different expertise coming together to form a formidable force that can come up with new ideas on how to ensure that we have noble devices, a noble idea that can transform our communities by ensuring that we have energy sources that are locally sourced, locally manufactured, and probably the knowledge is transmitted or laid to our communities on different aspects of energy use and energy efficiency and so on.
CB: Great. It sounds like there’s going to be so many kind of benefits that are going to be derived from this this project and I’m really looking forward to seeing that come to fruition.
FO: Sure, thank you. Because I think the drive around the SOLACE project is to bring different expertise together, one. And two is how do we translate this idea or whatever we come up with to the community around us. And of course the community starts with the students involved, different staff members with different expertise, and then it goes down to the outside of the university as a community. So we look forward to a very successful project with so much information and output.
CB: Great. Yeah. And I think again it’s that running theme of how important as well kind of having that effective collaboration and multidisciplinary approach to these projects.
Q4: What are the barriers to and misconceptions around next-generation solar?
GB: What would you say, from your experience, from your observations, are the kind of barriers to next generation solar, and any kind of misconceptions around it?
FO: I feel like, some of the barriers that we have, one main barrier that we have is lack of information. And, that information to the right people, and to everybody. Because we, we have a lot of information, probably on the internet. We write publications, and we put them in very good journals, but are they accessible to people, let’s say, those in the village where I came from? Maybe not.
CB: Yeah.
FO: But also, again, people working on this next-generation source of energy, which is myself and others. Are we able to take this information to the community that is… and put it in a way in which that the community can understand? And probably implement this in their daily lives? So those are the barriers that we need to break.
And then, of course, as well as the research that we do, how do we bring down the output of our research to changing the lives of the community that we live in? Because I feel like most of our research remains in the labs, or remains in the journals where the publications are. But we need this information, we need the expertise, we need the knowledge and the skills being taken down to the villages who need the most.
CB: Yeah, yeah, and I think, yeah, that really emphasizes, again, about the importance of that community engagement, that user engagement, and kind of bridging that gap between the, kind of technical research, then, and how it’s gonna benefit, and be deployed, you know, to those who are going to be using it on a daily basis.
FO: And again, of course, I also look at it like, we need to come up with solutions which are tailored towards solving problems based in different regions. So, if we could have solutions being derived directly from these regions, people who understand them better, live with these problems, then I feel like we’ll be able to achieve more.
Because the idea we have is, like, are we importing information? So, when information is being imported, people look at it like it belongs to a certain group, and not us. So, if we could have a way – and that brings in the collaborations that we try to build, so that the locals, and of course researchers, especially coming from the African sector, which has got inadequate facilities – they can come up together with solutions, recognizing what challenges we have as a region, then that will make my life much better.
CB: Definitely. And this is the approach that is going to be taken then with the SOLACE project? Is that what you envisage?
FO: Exactly. You see, SOLACE project is, more or less trying to come up with solutions using expertise and the facilities available in the UK, but solutions which directly benefits communities in Africa, and that’s why it’s a collaboration bringing in African countries. So, so far we have Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and then with a UK partner. And now, if you look at this composition, then it tells you that whatever output we have will be relayed directly to solving problems in African setup, which is a plus.
Q5: What advice would you give young researchers who want to get into a similar field?
CB: And in terms of you’ve, you’ve touched upon your background and you know that what’s motivated you to get into this field. What advice would you give young researchers who want to get into a similar field to you?
FO: I think for the young researchers, more or less is there must be a motivating factor. And the first thing is to identify a motivating factor to solving a problem in our community. So there’s always like we live in a community of where we have a lot of inequality. For instance, I’ve just mentioned that the access to energy is not universal. So we have to come up with a way of solving this problem. And of course, that drive, once the drive is there, then of course the advice is to move or work towards ensuring that that drive leads you to a solution.
So I think if there is a drive, of course there’s problems in our communities. But if there’s a drive and there’s a willingness to work towards finding a solution, then of course, there would always be willing partners who are able to work with you until we get a solution to our problems in our communities.
CB: I think that’s, that’s kind of one of the, the key takeaways, I think actually from this talk with you, Francis, like you said, the importance of having that drive and motivation.
Q6: What do you hope TEA@SUNRISE will achieve?
CB: And what do you hope TEA@SUNRISE will achieve in terms of next generation solar and paving the way for fair and just energy access in Africa?
FO: The TEA@SUNRISE is a very noble idea because first, the TEA@SUNRISE ensures that there is an enhanced collaboration. The TEA@SUNRISE believes that we cannot find solution in isolation. We can only find solutions to problems facing energy access when we come together as a team. So the creation of a network within the TSA@SUNRISE is a very noble idea to me because it brings up people who come up with different aspect of solutions to these problems that we have.
Because if we say, let’s say one category of people in the UK to find a solution that is affecting people in Kenya, then that will not be ideal enough. But we know how experts coming from different aspects of Kenya, different areas in Africa and they’re all coming together to find a common solution to different areas, then I think is a very noble thing.
So to me, if we have a strengthened TEA@SUNRISE, then we see a possibility of having a better or enhanced access to energy wherever we are so that we can have locally produced kind of solutions to these problems that we do have to access the energy.
CB: Oh, thank you, Francis. I think that was a really clear message that will resonate, you know, really clearly with the rest of our network. And thank you for your time today. It’s been really inspirational and insightful. Definitely the most productive tea break that I’ve ever had. So thank you for your time today.
FO: Thank you so much Chantal. And I look forward to more of this so that at least we can talk about so much about the TEA@SUNRISE and how we can make it even better.
CB: Exactly. I think, yeah, like you said, that, you know, there’s lots of direction, you know. There’s so much more we can do, you know, with the network and, yeah, looking forward to working with you on that.
FO: Sure, sure. Thank you so much.