Engineering giant Atkins has landed a major deal to provide technical assistance to 24 east and southern African countries under a new European Union initiative.
The £12.5million contract will see the group working across continent to help solve energy access and support problems under the EU’s framework for Sustainable Energy for all.
Atkins’ chief executive officer Prof Dr Uwe Krueger said: “This is an extremely significant win for Atkins and we are proud to be leading this multi-country assignment put forward by the EU, to help Africa meet one of its greatest infrastructure challenges.
“This initiative was born out of the UN and we are pleased to be supporting the EU Commission in the delivery of this transformative project. This project is a great example of how our expertise is being used to help future proof the energy sector in Africa.”
The contract will fund a wide range of sustainable solutions, including an assessing of access to electricity, supporting local governments with developing energy sector policies and encouraging partnerships between the public and private sector.
The consortium will also provide technical assistance in programming and project preparation in the areas of rural electrification, renewable energies, energy efficiency and energy savings.
More than 650m people in Sub Saharan Africa rely on traditional biomass for everyday heating and cooking, exposing them to deadly fumes which kill nearly two million people per year.
The region has the lowest electrification rate in the world.
This year also marks start of the ‘Decade of Sustainable Energy for All’.
Mike Woolgar, project director at Atkins said: “We are proud and excited to be part of this ambitious country changing and ultimately life changing initiative.
“We are conscious that we now have a real responsibility to make this project a success in order to achieve measurable impact on the lives of the people in Africa.
“Our staff are passionate about helping others by using their technical expertise and experience.”
The EU has championed the fight against energy poverty, lending its support to the global ‘Sustainable Energy for All’ (SE4All) initiative, launched by UN Secretary General in 2012.
The initiative aims to provide universal access to modern energy services, double the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix and double the current rate of improvement in energy efficiency by 2030.
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