CHINESE renewable energy solutions provider SAJ has launched an education-focused renewable energy laboratory in Zimbabwe, positioning skills development and technical capacity-building as the cornerstone of its long-term investment strategy in the country.
Established in 2005, SAJ is a global provider of advanced energy storage and smart power solutions, focused on integrating power generation, energy storage, consumption, and operations to enhance safety, efficiency, and profitability for users.
It specialises in providing solar pump inverters, general variable frequency drives (VFDs), and commercial and Industrial (C&I) energy solutions to its clients.
The company aims to be a global leader in smart energy storage, with a strong emphasis on innovation and sustainability, guided by a mission to create a greener environment.
SAJ has a broad global footprint, delivering products in more than 85 countries and continuing to expand its localised operations and research-driven capabilities.
In an interview with Standardbusiness, SAJ Zimbabwe director Haden Chen said the company sees Zimbabwe as a market with a strong potential for the company.
“l am confident with this market,” Haden said. “The government is very much focused on education, which means the future is much better. That is why we built the SAJ lab, and one of the functions is education, educating the client to be more professional, not only business,” he said.
“Of course, we want business, but we want the long-term business. The lab will serve as a skills and knowledge hub, with a strong focus on renewable energy technologies.
- Renewables steal limelight in French polls
- Why we do what we do at AMH: Mafukidze
- Why we do what we do at AMH: Mafukidze
- News in depth: Zimbabwe’s push for shift to renewable energy sources gathers momentum
Keep Reading
“SAJ intends to address one of Zimbabwe’s most persistent challenges, unstable electricity supply by providing solutions in energy storage, inverters and battery systems that harness solar power.”
The need for investments comes as Zimbabwe has a power deficit of up to 1 600 megawatts (MW), yet the country’s renewables potential is 1 872MW worth of power, according to the Zimbabwe Energy Council.
From this renewable power generation potential, the council noted 600MW would come from solar, geothermal (50MW), biomass (1 000MW), small hydro (120MW), and wind (100MW).
For investors like SAJ, Zimbabwe presents a compelling opportunity to deploy renewable energy solutions that can help bridge the power supply gap while unlocking long-term growth in a market with significant untapped clean-energy potential.
“Utilities are very unstable here, so that is why we are coming in to solve problems around energy storage and load instability,” Haden said.
Beyond supplying products, the group is positioning the initiative as a community-centred model.
Local technicians and partners will be trained at the SAJ lab, with the firm having already established a local team to ensure fast-response technical support and to jointly design solutions tailored to end users.
The educational component of the lab will be offered free of charge.
Haden this approach was aimed at building capacity and professionalism within the local market.
On product quality, Haden said the company’s systems already had a strong track record in Europe, where sales volumes exceed those in Zimbabwe.
The company is backing its confidence with a 10-year warranty on its products to reflect durability and compliance with international standards.
“If the product is not stable, we will lose,” he said.
While the group does not yet have a manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe, it sees job creation through skills transfer as a more immediate impact.
Local teams will be trained to design and manufacture complementary components such as AC and DC combiner boxes around energy storage systems, creating opportunities for downstream manufacturing and entrepreneurship.
“We don’t have a factory, but we can train clients to design and manufacture other components, which helps the market and the country,” Haden said.
He said the education-led market entry model signalled a long-term approach that blends renewable energy solutions with capacity building rather than short-term commercial gains.
Industry players, led by the Renewable Energy Association of Zimbabwe, are pushing for policy and standards reforms to accelerate renewable energy investment.
This comes as government frameworks increasingly focus on energy security, efficiency, and universal electricity access by 2030, underpinned by plans to mobilise billions in new capital.
