Aies Institute

The African Initiative for Energy Storage (AIES) is an umbrella organisation bringing together experts and partners working on the research, design and implementation of energy storage projects in Africa. The initiative was founded in 2020 to address the cross-sectoral challenges related to the integration of energy storage in the African energy sector. Africa is now at a crossroads where its stakeholders will soon choose its way forward within the global energy transition. We can either continue with the conventional approach while hoping to find new solutions within the same framework or leverage the energy transition to drastically change the sector’s structure and incentives. AIES’ ambition is to precipitate the recognition that the transition is Africa’s key to its energy wealth. The initiative was founded on the combined views (i) that the energy transition is the only viable path to a scalable and rapid development of the sector in Africa and (ii) that storage solutions are on the critical path of the African energy transition. AIES is championing the full potential of storage solutions in order to shift Africa’s energy systems toward more resilient and flexible networks that are adapted to African challenges. It also intends to promote and to help produce the necessary conditions for the development and manufacturing of energy storage technologies on the continent. AIES strives towards a more sustainable, reliable, resilient, greener and growing African energy sector.