Leadership

BioSolve Group is a start-up biotechnology company founded to support the business concepts developed by Dr. Grace Nkechinyere Ijoma working with two of her PhD students with previous chemical engineering backgrounds and research focus on Biogas technologies. These researchers worked tirelessly for six years at the University of South Africa on developing approaches to improve biogas yield, and address challenges of substrate content inhibitions as well as review the effects of vessels aspect ratios on the behavior of microorganisms during anaerobic digestion and methanation. Furthermore, conducting techno-economic feasibility research addressing the viability of a biogas business venture in the African context. They have also provided consulting services on energy-related projects across Africa, establishing international networks in the process. Following the failures of the earlier initiative to introduce the technology to Africa, which was individualised small scale biogas production. They conducted extensive research with a primary focus on how to best implement and establish biogas technologies in Africa. Taking into account that our European, North American, and Asian counterparts have embraced a centralised production system, production is promoted in both the public and private sectors by supporting government legislations for gas-to-power through the grid and pipes access metered delivery to homes. Africa, on the other hand, currently lacks the same infrastructure and systems.

It should also be noted that the lead technologists have acted as supervisors on-site, monitoring and evaluating various stages of similar project development. We’ve worked with clients from all over South Africa and beyond, including Zambia, Kenya, and Lesotho, building our reputation as an international consultancy with ancillary functions. Depending on the project specifications, we may seek expertise from our network of world-class academics, researchers, professionals, and technical experts from the African continent and beyond. They serve as project advisers and are involved in the project’s conception, initiation, and management. Our projects use the 4IR, including artificial intelligence sourcing, as well as a close loop economic consideration to ensure long-term project sustainability and fiscal independence for unit operations that would otherwise be heavy cost-centers. We strive for a fusion of urban aesthetics while also emphasising environmental sustainability and the need to preserve the pristine environment and nature represented in new developments on land with vegetation and long preserved ecological systems.

Dr. Grace Nkechinyere Ijoma established Biosolve Group following her post-doctoral fellowship at the University of South Africa. The time allotted at the Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability (IDEAS) was spent on prototyping biogas digesters designed for African climates. She remains an independent researcher and continues to refine energy development approaches (biogas and biodiesel) through active and collaborative research and optimization experiments. She has over 15 years of experience in waste water treatment and mining yield improvements.

She has been involved in several Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) set up for biogas production and waste management for South African export farmers who have significant amounts of organic waste streams and want to exploit this renewable resource for electricity generation to ensure their farm and food processing operations have constant power supply over the last five years. Dr. Ijoma and her team of researchers have also been heavily involved in the design and installation of biogas digesters in South African schools as part of community development initiatives spearheaded by the University of South Africa, frequently serving as project managers. In some cases, these projects include both cooking gas and electrification. She worked on these projects with a group of her Engineering post-graduate students (Masters and PhDs) who she supervised. She has also handled logistics for the importation of materials and generators needed for electrification, working with UNISA’s logistics division and staff but interacting directly with manufacturers to provide specifications. This has allowed her to build an international network of biogas manufacturers from all over the world. She is currently working with the Municipal Governing Bodies of the Free State and North West Provinces to develop and integrate Biogas Plants into these provinces’ existing Waste Water Treatment Plants. She also provides policy advice to the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and the Lephalale Municipality in South Africa’s Limpopo Province on issues such as cleaner energy, circular economies, and clean water. Dr. Ijoma is a well-known scholar who has written numerous articles and reviews on the subject of green energy and sustainability.