Solar Assisted Water Supply and Energy Hub & II. Drinking Water Supply by GDM Technology

The lack of universal access to electricity in many parts of Limpopo province makes it a goal of South Africa’s National Development plan (2011). Electricity supply has increased over the years, with the percentage of households connected growing from 76.7% in 2002 to 84.4% in 2017. Despite the increase, most rural parts face power rationing or lack of electrification. Previous projects from the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST) have invented and brought to fruition stand-alone solar systems, which provide electricity for Water Sanitation &Hygiene (WASH) facilities. Photovoltaic systems produce electricity from sunlight, making electricity reliable, decentralized and economical.

Additionally, WASH standards are often inadequate in predominantly low-income communities in rural areas of Limpopo. Water sources are at risk of faecal and wastewater pollution leading to significant contamination and the spread of diseases. Gravity-driven membrane (GDM) technology purifies contaminated water at a low cost without chemicals backwashing or energy supply.

Prof. Michael Burkhardt and Prof. Christof Biba along with a team of scientific employees and students are focused on water treatment systems supplied by renewable energy components. The activities were framed by the study program “Renewable Energies and Environmental Engineering” and research work within the Institute for Solar Technology and the Institute for Environmental Engineering.

We express our sincere appreciation to the Leading House Region Africa Seed Fund 2020 to enable us with this grant and ensure we see it through successfully. Through the fund, with a criteria catalogue from OST, we developed a compact solar-driven water filtration plant, currently situated at the University of Venda (Univen). Furthermore, initiating a partnership with Univenda and other institutions in South Africa and with SwissTPH, ETH, and the University of Basel created a great possibility of bridging the knowledge gap between students, lecturers, and partners towards discovering a sustainable way of life in remote areas.

This grant enabled the development of solid synergies and networking collaborations between lecturers, students and other institutions that received the Leading House Region Africa Seed Fund 2020. We improved knowledge and adaptation with the GDM technology and solar-assisted water supply and energy in line with sustainability through training and workshops. Two OST students developed a transportable blueprint design of the system through their thesis work, later conducting a pilot construction and installation, and realized it in Switzerland. As a result, we were able to have a real-world experience of the overall concept, which we achieved by deploying a demonstration system to South Africa through a team from the University of Venda. However, the installation of the demonstration systems could have been successful, but we postponed the on-site installation at the specific location due to the pandemic. Eventually, a Workshop at the University of Venda was held during a visit from two participants of the OST. To this point, this study poses an outstanding contribution to WASH activities and energy supply. Our findings could direct further research and is a building block in creating sustainable wash facilities and energy supply in remote areas with a dearth of electricity and inadequate WASH facilities, contributing toward sustainable development goals.

“A cooperation between partners of different cultural, social and scientific background is very enriching and leads to insights that are valuable for both sides.”