Nigerian researcher bags US grant

A Nigerian researcher, Oluwaseyi Amisu, has been awarded a combined $63,000 in project support from the United States to develop and evaluate the commercial viability of an energy technology. The initiative aims to enhance the incorporation of renewable energy sources into microgrid systems. Amisu, an engineering researcher and doctoral student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, is spearheading the creation and commercialization of an AI-driven hybrid microgrid control system.

This system is designed to efficiently manage renewable energy sources, battery storage, and other power resources to adapt to fluctuating energy requirements. The project initially received $13,000 from the Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium Proof-of-Concept program to support its preliminary stages. Following this, Amisu and his team were recognized by Launch Tennessee in 2026 as a Proof-of-Concept awardee.

The team's progress led them to the US National Science Foundation’s National I-Corps program, where they secured an additional $50,000 to assess the technology's commercial potential.