Zambia runs on mostly green power, but households use polluting cooking fuel: study suggests how to fix this
Zambia, like many African countries, is facing a crisis over clean cooking fuel. Over 80% of the population still relies on polluting fuels like charcoal and firewood. This exposes families to toxic indoor air, deepens poverty and gender inequality, drives deforestation, and adds to climate change.
In Zambia, having electricity at home does not automatically lead to cleaner cooking. In the global south, electricity only starts to support clean cooking once national access rates exceed 80%. In Zambia, only around 50% of people have access to electricity. Frequent power cuts and high residential tariffs make cooking with electricity either unreliable or unaffordable.
We are renewable energy and green hydrogen researchers who set out to discover the potential for the use of green hydrogen as an alternative source of power. Green hydrogen is produced from water and renewable electricity. It’s a clean, storable fuel that can be used like fossil gas, without the emissions. It could offer households a flexible, low-carbon substitute for charcoal or liquefied petroleum gas.
Our research was based on a modelling exercise that looked at various factors related to green hydrogen and the situation in Zambia.
The renewable energy used to make green hydrogen usually comes from a solar or wind power system set up especially for the green hydrogen plant. For instance, the Hyphen project in Namibia plans to use solar and wind power to produce green hydrogen for export and domestic use.
These systems are expensive to build and operate. They also require significant upfront capital and storage infrastructure to ensure reliable output.
Our research used a computer simulation model to study the costs of green hydrogen plants, the amount of revenue they could generate, their technical performance, and their reliability. We also estimated the value that each unit of green hydrogen would bring to society through providing clean cooking energy.
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For the full article by Dr Richard Blanchard visit the Conversation.
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Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 25/105
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2025 QS World University Rankings – the ninth year running.
Loughborough is ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2026, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2025 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.
Loughborough was also named University of the Year for Sport in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 - the fourth time it has been awarded the prestigious title.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
Zambia, like many African countries, is facing a crisis over clean cooking fuel. Over 80% of the population still relies on polluting fuels like charcoal and firewood. This exposes families to toxic indoor air, deepens poverty and gender inequality, drives deforestation, and adds to climate change.
In Zambia, having electricity at home does not automatically lead to cleaner cooking. In the global south, electricity only starts to support clean cooking once national access rates exceed 80%. In Zambia, only around 50% of people have access to electricity. Frequent power cuts and high residential tariffs make cooking with electricity either unreliable or unaffordable.
We are renewable energy and green hydrogen researchers who set out to discover the potential for the use of green hydrogen as an alternative source of power. Green hydrogen is produced from water and renewable electricity. It’s a clean, storable fuel that can be used like fossil gas, without the emissions. It could offer households a flexible, low-carbon substitute for charcoal or liquefied petroleum gas.
Our research was based on a modelling exercise that looked at various factors related to green hydrogen and the situation in Zambia.
The renewable energy used to make green hydrogen usually comes from a solar or wind power system set up especially for the green hydrogen plant. For instance, the Hyphen project in Namibia plans to use solar and wind power to produce green hydrogen for export and domestic use.
These systems are expensive to build and operate. They also require significant upfront capital and storage infrastructure to ensure reliable output.
Our research used a computer simulation model to study the costs of green hydrogen plants, the amount of revenue they could generate, their technical performance, and their reliability. We also estimated the value that each unit of green hydrogen would bring to society through providing clean cooking energy.
Continues…
For the full article by Dr Richard Blanchard visit the Conversation.
ENDS
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 25/105
Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.
It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme and named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2025 QS World University Rankings – the ninth year running.
Loughborough is ranked 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2026, 10th in the Guardian University League Table 2025 and 10th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.
Loughborough was also named University of the Year for Sport in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025 - the fourth time it has been awarded the prestigious title.
Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’, and in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 over 90% of its research was rated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally-excellent’. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.
The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.
