The 8th SOLTRAIN CONFERENCE hosted by the Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC), University of Botswana

The 8th SOLTRAIN conference will be held in Gaborone, Botswana (December 4-5, 2024), at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC), hosted by the Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC), University of Botswana. 

For registration, please visit the official SADC Energy Week website at www.sadcenergyweek.org.

The 8th SOLTRAIN+ Conference will be hosted by the University of Botswana – Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC), a regional partner of SOLTRAIN+. The 8th Southern African Renewable Heating & Cooling Training & Demonstration Initiative (SOLTRAIN+) Conference will showcase locally installed SOLTRAIN+ demonstration projects and highlight various heating, cooling, and industrial technologies of solar thermal technology. It will also introduce the latest additions to SOLTRAIN+ and offer participants opportunities to engage with experts while exploring regional and international renewable energy heating and cooling initiatives aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

SOLTRAIN+ is an international project funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and implemented in five (5) SADC countries – Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The project is coordinated internationally by AEE-Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC) Austria, regionally by the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE) Namibia, and nationally by the Clean Energy Research Centre (CERC), University of Botswana.

SOLTRAIN+ contributes to the transformation of the energy system to a sustainable, affordable, and carbon-free system, through the implementation of RHC systems in targeted sectors - buildings, industry/commerce, tourism, and hospitals and enables this through holistic capacity building. RHC technologies are solar thermal, heat pump, and energy efficiency (EE) by waste heat recovery (cooling via heat-driven absorption). To achieve this, we focus on the following main outcome:

• Capacity building via tailor-made training activities for the addressed technologies and sectors
• Enabling a gender-balanced community by defining and operating a gender & diversity plan
• Demonstration and monitoring of low-exergy RHC/EE concepts and systems
• Awareness raising for all relevant stakeholders on scientific and non-scientific levels
• Utilisation and expansion of SOLTRAIN+ beyond the project and to additional SADC countries

The SOLTRAIN+ Conference will be held under the umbrella of the 2024 SADC Sustainable Energy Week, from the 2nd to the 6th of December, 2024. This week-long event will feature high-level technical and policy presentations, seminars, Business-to-Business meetings, interactive group discussions, panel sessions, and numerous networking opportunities. Additionally, regional and international exhibitions will offer a platform for showcasing innovations and fostering strategic partnerships.

In the last three years, the following countries hosted the SOLTRAIN conference:

• 5^th SOLTRAIN Conference – Hosted by the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe in 2021
• 6^th SOLTRAIN Conference – Hosted by Stellenbosch University, South Africa in 2022
• 7^th SOLTRAIN Conference – Hosted by the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (SACREEE) Namibia in 2023.

Delegates are expected from all SADC countries and internationally. Additionally, participation is open to all interested persons. For registration, please visit the official SADC Energy Week website at www.sadcenergyweek.org.