Hydrobox

Hydrobox NV is a Belgian-Kenyan renewable energy company founded in 2018 that develops, builds, owns, and operates small-scale, run-of-the-river hydropower plants to provide electricity to underserved communities in Africa. The company emerged from a partnership between Kenyan entrepreneur John Magiro and Belgian entrepreneur Thomas Poelmans. Magiro, driven by the lack of electricity in his own village, first built a micro-hydro plant using everyday objects. Poelmans brought business acumen from his career at Deloitte, as a consultant for organizations like the World Bank, and as a co-founder of a recycling company in Cameroon. Together, they professionalized and scaled the technology into what is now Hydrobox.

The company's core product is a standardized, containerized, and remotely monitored hydropower plant. This design reduces construction costs and deployment time, which is a significant advantage in hard-to-reach rural areas. The plants utilize smart sensors and IoT technology for efficient remote operation and management, minimizing downtime. By using the "run-of-the-river" technique, which diverts water for a short distance before returning it to the river, the system generates power 24/7 without the need for large dams, thus limiting the environmental impact. To ensure year-round service and enhance climate resilience, the company also integrates solar power into its mini-grids.

Hydrobox operates on a distinct business model, serving a mix of clients to ensure financial viability. This "ABC" (Anchor, Business, Community) model targets large commercial and industrial (C&I) clients, such as tea factories and telecommunications companies, as anchor customers who consume 40-60% of the power. This provides a stable revenue stream, allowing Hydrobox to offer the remaining electricity at affordable tariffs to smaller businesses, households, schools, and hospitals. The company functions as an independent power producer (IPP), operating its own mini-grid network with medium and low-voltage lines to distribute electricity. Revenue is generated by selling electricity directly to these various customer segments. Recently, Hydrobox secured $9 million in debt financing from FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, and ElectriFI, an EU-backed facility, to fund the expansion of its operations in Kenya. The company has a significant pipeline of projects in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo, aiming to reach one million end-users by 2030.

Keywords: renewable energy Africa, small-scale hydropower, rural electrification, mini-grids, run-of-the-river hydro, energy access, cleantech Kenya, impact investing, project finance, sustainable infrastructure, off-grid energy solutions, C&I energy solutions, IoT energy management, containerized power plants, decentralized energy, community power, Thomas Poelmans, John Magiro, energy development, sustainable development goals