Research and Innovation

Context. Innovation drives growth and enables change. It is of the utmost importance for a country to be innovative, as it allows the country to discover new and better solutions for existing problems. Even though the results matter, the process of innovation allows people to learn, and enabling learning is the start of the road for development.

Biomass gasifiers. Concerning the energy sector, Liberia’s innovative process can be observed in universities such as Booker Washington Institute, in Kakata. There, the use of small biomass gasifiers for power generation has improved access to power. These gasifiers represent small-scale projects, for demonstration purposes, as the technology itself is not mature yet. In this way, Liberia is contributing to the testing and improvement of gasifiers, while benefiting from the power generation. Furthermore, Liberian people are learning about the technology used, building capacity and acquiring practice with the power generation units and also with the use of natural resources. This is particularly important for the sustainable development and use of resources, raising awareness of these issues.

Off-grid and decentralized solutions. Current innovative processes are focused on off-grid or decentralized generation. The Rural Energy Master Plan encourages innovation in the energy sector, with the use of different and mostly sustainable technologies that represent a step forward compared to the already known diesel generation units.

Gender equality. Concerning learning and innovation, it is imperative to take into account gender equality issues, so as to allow both men and women to learn and to handle the devices and technologies used.