IFC and LMI Holdings to Build West Africa’s Largest Private-Sector Solar Plant in Ghana

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IFC and LMI Holdings collaborate on West Africa’s largest private-sector solar power plant in Ghana, providing clean, affordable energy for industrial zones.
IFC and LMI Holdings collaborate on West Africa’s largest private-sector solar power plant in Ghana, providing clean, affordable energy for industrial zones.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has deepened its collaboration with Ghana’s LMI Holdings, a top conglomerate, to propel clean energy production in the nation. The partnership will see the development of the largest private-sector-driven, utility-scale solar plant in West Africa, targeting improved energy access for companies in two of Ghana’s Special Industrial Zones.

Significant Investment in Clean Energy Development

IFC is investing $21 million as part of a $100 million loan for the development of a 150 MW solar power plant. This project will cater to businesses in LMI Holdings’ Tema and Dawa industrial zones. The first 100 MW phase finishes by October 2026, followed by a second phase adding 50 MW by June 2027.

The Solar For Industries program, once operational, will power 100+ food processing, cement, steel, textile, and light manufacturing enterprises. The solar power plant will avoid 120,000 metric tons of carbon emissions every year while providing stable, low-cost, and clean energy to all. The program will not only increase energy reliability but also save businesses money, promoting increased industrial development.

Kojo Botsio Aduhene, CEO of LMI Holdings, said, “A thousand-mile journey starts with a step. This is the start of our planned 1000MW solar farm – a feat we intend to achieve by 2032.”

Boosting Industrial Growth in Ghana

Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for Central Africa and Anglophone West Africa, highlighted the importance of reliable, affordable clean energy in supporting industrial growth and economic development in Ghana. She emphasized the partnership as a sign of IFC’s commitment to private sector-led renewable energy, boosting investment, competitiveness, and jobs.

Also read: IFC Invests $53 Million to Boost Green Building Certification and Decarbonization in Indonesia

Supporting Ghana’s Renewable Energy Targets

The investment helps support Ghana’s 2030 Renewable Energy Master Plan ambition of 10% renewable energy contribution. The development of the IFC Ghana Solar Power Plant is a significant step in reaching these sustainability and energy goals.

Additionally, this project comes after a long-term history of cooperation between IFC and LMI Holdings. Along with the IFC Ghana Solar Power Plant, the IFC backed Africa’s largest rooftop solar project (16.82 MW) in Tema Free Zone and funded a water treatment plant in Dawa.

Avantium Partners with Climeworks to Advance Direct Air Capture Technology

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Avantium and Climeworks collaborate to scale Direct Air Capture technology with a new high-throughput testing facility aimed at enhancing CO2 removal efficiency (Image Source: X/@Climeworks)
Avantium and Climeworks collaborate to scale Direct Air Capture technology with a new high-throughput testing facility aimed at enhancing CO2 removal efficiency (Image Source: X/@Climeworks)

Avantium N.V., a leading company in renewable and circular polymer materials, has announced a strategic agreement with Climeworks AG, a pioneer in Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology. With this partnership, Climeworks will acquire another state-of-the-art high-throughput adsorption testing facility from Avantium R&D Solutions, signifying a substantial broad-scale breakthrough in DAC technology. By removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere permanently, this collaboration aims to speed up efforts to stop climate change.

Innovative Testing Unit to Enhance DAC Technology

Climeworks, in collaboration with Carbfix, employs DAC technology to extract CO2 from the atmosphere and safely store it underground in Iceland. For the testing of chemicals and materials, Avantium R&D Solutions offers top-notch research and development services. The two companies have recently developed a custom-built, high-throughput adsorption testing unit designed for Climeworks’ DAC application. The testing unit improves CO2 adsorption material testing efficiency, helping develop more cost-effective DAC systems for carbon capture.

Cost-Efficient Testing and Enhanced Performance

The advanced testing unit has already shown significant benefits, including a 25-fold reduction in sample mass and gas consumption. This results in significant cost savings, especially in gas consumption, which is vital for R&D teams using smaller samples.

The breakthrough design also ensures better comparability between reactors, as all samples are measured sequentially using the same sensors. With an impressive uptime of 98% throughout 2024, the testing unit has proven reliable, with downtimes limited to routine maintenance. The unit’s reliability helps Climeworks scale DAC technology, improve quality control, and accelerate CO2 capture solution development and deployment.

Also read: Avantium Secures €3.5 Million EU Grant for ICONIC CO2 Conversion Project

Partnership to Drive Global Deployment of DAC Systems

Jan Wurzbacher, Co-CEO and co-founder of Climeworks, said, “This agreement enables us to take a significant step forward in building out a testing environment of industrial quality and expanding our high-quality supplier ecosystem. Avantium’s high-throughput adsorption testing unit will enhance our ability to develop and test new materials and accelerate the deployment of our DAC systems on a global scale.”

The Avantium-Climeworks partnership is a key milestone in scaling Direct Air Capture technology to help fight climate change.