Driving Quality and Innovation for Solar Generators
Press Releases
ZE-Gen and CLASP Join Forces to Drive Quality and Innovation for Solar Generators
London and Nairobi 15 September 2025 – An international partnership has launched today to improve consumer choice, affordability and reliability in the solar generator market by driving competition and inspiring innovation.
The collaboration between ZE-Gen, the leading global initiative working to end the use of fossil fuel generators, and CLASP, the international NGO focused on appliance efficiency, will strengthen excellence in a clean technology that can transform communities, economies and the environment by ending the need for fossil fuel generators.
The new partnership will include launching a new international solar-powered generator competition in October to showcase innovation in the market as part of the Global LEAP Awards, which promote the world’s most innovative, high performing and efficient solar solutions in the off-grid sector.
ZE-Gen, together with CLASP, aims to catalyse a shift towards clean, affordable, and reliable energy through solar-powered generators across low-and middle-income countries. The project is part of ZE-Gen’s work to transform the clean energy eco-system across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands.
A zero-emission generator produces electricity without releasing pollutants.
Photo: Shutterstock
The LEAP Award will be paired with a VeraSol quality assurance framework to ensure quality, safety, and performance transparency for consumers and showcase modern solar generators that are more reliable, cost-effective to operate, and significantly less polluting than outdated fossil fuel generators.
This includes the development of test methods and rigorous lab- and user-testing to provide a strong basis for evaluating the Global LEAP Awards participants, as well as address gaps in existing test procedures and establish quality and safety requirements for solar generators more broadly.
Globally, around 1.5 billion people lack access to reliable electricity and more than 82.6 million fossil fuel generators are in use worldwide by communities living with weak, unreliable, or no access to electricity. Despite their widespread use, fossil fuel generators cause pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and noise, coupled with adverse effects on health and unpredictable cost and availability of the fuel needed to run them.
Historically fossil fuel generators have dominated the market due to availability, purchase price and perceived reliability. However modern high quality solar-powered generators are quieter, don’t pollute, and do not have the health effects associated with old-fashioned fossil fuel generators. Renewable energy generators eliminate the need to source or pay for fuel, so beyond their purchase price, solar-powered generators are a cost-effective and long-lasting solution in resource-constrained settings, making them a better option for people, the economy and the planet.
ZE-Gen lead, Lily Beadle said: “The rapidly emerging market for solar-powered generators has huge commercial potential and offers a more reliable and safer solution for energy than highly polluting fossil fuel generators. Our partnership with CLASP will develop a new quality assurance programme which supports ZE-Gen’s wider programme of work and will help protect customers when they switch to renewable energy.”
CLASP’s Senior Director, Africa, Emmanuel Aziebor added: “In emerging economies, solar-powered generators are a game changer for people and businesses without access to reliable electricity. Testing and showcasing innovative, efficient, and user-friendly products will support CLASP and ZE-Gen’s mission to ensure cleaner, affordable generators powered by renewable energy become the default option for communities everywhere.”
This partnership is part of ZE-Gen and CLASP’s broader work under the UK Government’s Transforming Energy Access platform to transform the clean energy eco-system across emerging economies.
ZE-Gen’s unique approach tackles market barriers to renewable energy-based alternatives by developing real-world solutions that unite innovation, finance and skills to drive competitive market growth.
Background Information: ZE-Gen
Launched at COP27, ZE-Gen, is the leading international initiative working to improve the lives of people across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the Pacific Islands by driving the use of renewable energy in place of polluting fossil fuel generators.
ZE-Gen is a collaborative initiative by the Carbon Trust and Innovate UK and has an ambition to mobilise £100m of funding to inspire action and implement real-world change, delivered in partnership with sector specialists. ZE-Gen brings partners together and engages with the public and private sector to identify new opportunities and provide; al; commercialisation support such as investment readiness, market engagement, strategy & sales and product/service development.
To date, ZE-Gen has catalysed £39.75m including support from the IKEA Foundation and the UK Government’s Ayrton Fund and has supported more than 35 localised renewable energy projects across Nigeria, the Philippines, Cote d’Ivoire, Fiji, South Africa, Malawi and Uganda.
The Carbon Trust leads on ZE-Gen’s policy, research, outreach and strategy, with input and oversight across the whole ZE-Gen programme.
Innovate UK is responsible for delivering grant funding to advance renewable technology through the ZE-Gen Innovation Fund.
About the Ayrton Fund
The UK Government announced the Ayrton Fund commitment of up to £1bn for clean energy innovation at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019. It is part of the total £11.6bn of UK International Climate Finance also announced over the period from 2021 to 2026.
The vision of the Ayrton Fund is to help drive forward the clean energy transition in developing countries, by creating and demonstrating new technologies and business models to deploy them.
It will demonstrate UK leadership and expertise in cutting global emissions through world-leading innovations. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) jointly manage the Ayrton Fund.
For more information please contact: ze-gen@carbontrust.com
Visit the ZE-Gen programme website – https://www.ze-gen.org
About CLASP
CLASP is the leading global authority on efficient appliances’ role in fighting climate change and improving people’s lives. An international NGO with 25 years of expertise and offices on five continents, CLASP collaborates with policymakers, industry leaders, and other experts to create a more sustainable future for people and the planet. CLASP is dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing, interconnected crises: the climate emergency, poverty, inequality, and access to energy.
About VeraSol
VeraSol maintains the world’s most widely recognized quality assurance framework for pico-solar products and solar home system kits. Managed by CLASP, VeraSol has expanded its services to meet the industry’s growing need for quality assurance in off-grid appliances and productive use equipment. VeraSol aims to make safe, affordable, and durable off-grid products the default choice in the market by providing testing, product data sharing, and other support services.
About the Global LEAP Awards
The Global LEAP Awards is an international competition that identifies and promotes the world’s best, most energy-efficient appliances for use in off-grid and weak-grid areas. Managed by CLASP through the Efficiency for Access coalition, it is designed to drive innovation, build market infrastructure, and accelerate the adoption of high-quality, energy-efficient appliances in developing countries.
Nominations for the Global LEAP Solar Generator Competition open on 8 October. See the competition website for details on eligibility and timelines.
