Cape Town startup seeks to boost electricity generation using a blockchain-based solution
Using a solution that is based on blockchain technology, the South African startup Momint has recently launched an initiative that aims to ease the country’s power generation challenges.
By Staff
A South African startup, Momint, recently announced that it has launched a blockchain-powered solution that can ease the African country’s energy woes by installing more rooftop solar systems at public institutions like hospitals and schools.
The startup’s solution has reportedly already been tested at Delmas High School in the South African province of Mpumalanga, according to a News 24 report.
According to the report, those who are interested in investing in this project can do so by purchasing non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are connected to solar cells and are offered for sale for a minimum of less than $9.
The solar cells are then leased to institutions that agree to purchase the generated electricity via a so-called standard power purchase agreement.
Commenting on his company’s solution to South Africa’s power generation crisis, Ahren Posthumus, the CEO of Momint, said, “We are a technology company that’s trying to build for the next 15 years, but what we realized is we can’t build a technology company in a country that doesn’t have electricity.”
Posthumus also claimed that his company does not expect to profit from the project which he described as not financially sustainable.
The CEO however, claimed, that his organization chose to pursue this project because it wants to help South Africa overcome its power generation challenges.
On why the startup chose blockchain, Posthumus insisted that this not only makes the project transparent but it also lowers risks for Momint.
“We take legal contracts that represent ownership of each individual cell, and we put those legal contracts into a file that’s typically referred to as ‘the token’ on the blockchain. It’s called a smart contract. That smart contract says, ‘whoever owns this token has the right to the underlying asset’ and they have the right to the revenues that the underlying asset generates,” the CEO said.
Even while the blockchain-based solution is one of the most suitable, it has limitations of its own. One such disadvantage, according to Posthumus, is the possibility of public institutions defaulting.
