The ENERGICA project is a four-year collaboration between 28 partner organisations from 7 European and 9 African countries, aiming to demonstrate locally grounded renewable energy solutions in diverse African contexts. The focus lies on further developing and deploying existing technologies through integrated, locally adapted approaches that combine environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The demonstration countries — Madagascar, Sierra Leone, and Kenya — represent rural, peri-urban, and urban contexts with distinct energy access challenges.

In Madagascar, solar nano-grids improve energy access in rural areas and support productive uses such as agriculture and water services. In Sierra Leone, biodigester and water purification systems address the water-energy-food nexus. In Kenya, smart e-mobility and battery storage solutions support the transition to low-carbon urban energy systems.

Within the project, Hudara conducts baseline assessments to analyse how energy access is embedded in everyday life and local livelihoods, and to identify key needs and structural gaps. Based on these findings, Energy Transition Committees are established as multi-stakeholder platforms where community representatives, public actors, and practitioners jointly define priorities and governance structures for Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES). These systems integrate different energy sources and technologies — such as electricity, heating, cooling, storage, and mobility — at the community level, with the aim of enhancing efficiency, flexibility, resilience, and decarbonisation. Following an initial implementation phase, Hudara conducts social acceptance analyses to assess perceptions, emerging challenges, and the contribution of the interventions to local well-being and development.