German start-up company Solarbakery developed this 52 kW containerized solution. The production process of the bakery has been adjusted so that most of the electricity consumption occurs during the day, and only a short baking is carried out before dawn.

A new artisanal bakery is expected to open in Senegal as early as the end of March, serving fresh and delicious bread-and using solar energy to achieve a carbon dioxide-neutral production process.

The special feature of this bakery is that it is completely arranged in a container and will be shipped from Munich to Senegal by the German startup Solarbakery. The solar mounting bracket modules and installation system will then be unpacked and installed on site. The equipment of the bakery and a well-divided insulated and air-conditioned room will be located in a container on the ship. The container is almost 14 meters long and 2.45 meters wide. There is also a battery energy storage system embedded in the container, designed to provide enough power for early shifts.

The idea for Solarbakery came from Simon Zimmermann. He and a partner have deployed several container bakeries in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this business, the company achieved sales of $128,000 in the first fiscal year, but the electricity supply for the bakery is still guaranteed by polluting and expensive diesel generators.

As the co-founder of Solarbakery, Zimmermann won the support of Torsten Schreiber. Torsten has been cooperating with Africa Greentec company, committed to the solar electrification of African villages, and is now responsible for converting the containers in the bakery to rely on photovoltaics. To this end, a solar panel end clamp roof was added to the bakery with 144 modules and a total power of 52 kW. The third founder of the company, Daniel Petruccelli, is a baker. He changed the production process so that most of the power consumption occurs during the day, and the finished bread only needs to be heated for a short time before dawn. He also trains employees and devotes himself to developing new recipes.

Solarbakery is raising funds through a crowdfunding campaign on the Conda platform, with a goal of 500,000 euros, and now it has raised more than 300,000 euros. Zimmermann said that although there are 17 days remaining in the fundraising period, if the target is not reached within the stipulated time, the crowdfunding may be extended by two months. The money will initially be used to deploy two bakeries. Zimmermann added that one of them will be shipped directly to Senegal, and a production facility is expected to be established in Dakar for the production of more solar bakeries and mobile power stations（Adjustable bracket） by Africa Greentec. The second bakery will initially remain in Germany as a demonstration to persuade investors to invest in the company or directly invest in the solar bakery.

In the future, Solarbakery hopes to adopt three different business models. The first is to build your own bakery, which is then operated by partners in Africa at their own locations. The second is that the container will be sold as a turnkey solution, and the buyer will operate the bakery in his own name. Zimmermann said, “For example, aid organizations can participate.” The third model is leasing, which allows local entrepreneurs to rent a bakery without paying high upfront fees, but only needs to use the proceeds to pay for the monthly installment. "However, franchising is only suitable if the process is sufficiently standardized."

Solarbakery provides a seven-year return of 4.5% interest to crowdfunding investors. If the business is booming, you can also get bonus interest. Regardless of the model, Zimmermann is full of confidence in the potential of this idea.