The Scale
The first deployment sends roughly 1,000 kits across all accepting countries. The first mass batch is 13,000 kits across 10 countries. Full deployment targets 100,000+ kits per year. Total programme scope: approximately 400,000 villages.
This is not a one-time order. It is a sustained, multi-year procurement pipeline — one of the largest off-grid solar deployments ever coordinated. Manufacturers who participate are not filling a purchase order. They are becoming part of the infrastructure supply chain for an entire continent.
What We're Procuring
Each SunCrate kit is assembled at a factory from components supplied by certified manufacturers. The full bill of materials spans many categories:
- Solar panels — minimum 4 kW total, standard formats, flat-packed inside the crate
- Hybrid inverter — minimum 10 kW, integrated MPPT, MC4 input, IP65+
- LiFePO₄ battery stack — 10 kWh base, plug-and-play expandable; many stacks support daisy-chaining for higher capacity
- LoRa mesh radio — Meshtastic-compatible node with antenna
- Metering — single-board computer with current sensors
- Crate structure — aluminum extrusions, hinges, locking mechanisms, panel rail channels, pallet base
- Electrical components — MC4 connectors, DC and AC cabling, circuit breakers, fuses, surge protection, DIN rail, grounding hardware
- Enclosures — IP-rated distribution box, cable glands, mounting hardware
- Fasteners and structural hardware — bolts, brackets, clips, panel mounting clips, frame connectors
Every component in the kit comes from somewhere. SunCrate certifies suppliers across all categories — not just the headline components. If you manufacture aluminum extrusions, MC4 connectors, circuit breakers, cable, DIN rail enclosures, or structural fasteners, this programme needs you at scale.
Components are shipped to the assembly factory, where they are mounted to the central pillar, wired, tested, and packed into the crate. The finished crate ships to partner countries in standard 40-foot containers (minimum 24 crates per container).
What We Need from Manufacturers
Volume pricing
We are not asking for donations. We are asking for honest volume pricing — the kind of margin structure you offer a large institutional buyer. This is a verified, funded procurement at scale, not a speculative order.
Production reliability
Committed volumes on agreed timelines. A cleared deployment corridor has a limited window. Components that arrive late don't just delay one project — they delay containers that governments have already cleared, trucks that have already been scheduled, and communities that have already been told power is coming.
Standard warranties
We ask manufacturers to honour their standard product warranties — nothing beyond what they already offer to any institutional buyer. For reference, current industry standards are:
- Solar panels: 12–25 year product warranty, 25–30 year performance warranty — standard across all tier-1 manufacturers
- Hybrid inverters: 10-year warranty — standard from Deye, Sungrow, Huawei, GoodWe, and others
- LiFePO₄ batteries: 10-year warranty to 80% retained capacity — standard from BYD, CATL, EVE, and all major LFP manufacturers
Warranty claims will be processed through SunCrate's regional coordination network, not through individual village-level claims. This simplifies the process for manufacturers — one institutional point of contact, not 400,000 individual customers.
Packaging cooperation
Components must be delivered to the assembly factory in formats that work for crate assembly. Panel packaging must protect against shipping damage. Battery packaging must comply with dangerous goods regulations for lithium transport.
What Manufacturers Get
Volume
13,000 kits in the first mass batch. 100,000+ per year at full deployment. 400,000 total. For panel manufacturers, that is millions of modules. For inverter manufacturers, hundreds of thousands of units. For battery manufacturers, gigawatt-hours of LFP storage. These are numbers that move production lines.
Market presence across dozens of countries
SunCrate kits deploy across 10+ countries simultaneously in the first mass batch. In every deployment country, your hardware becomes the installed base. Local technicians learn your products. Spare parts networks build around your components. When a village expands its system — adding battery modules or solar panels — they buy what's already installed. The base kit creates the follow-on market.
The expansion market
Every deployed kit is a seed for future sales. The 10 kWh battery stack is expandable well beyond the base capacity. The 10 kW inverter accepts up to 13–15 kW of PV input. As villages generate revenue from energy services, they purchase additional modules and panels — from the same manufacturers whose hardware is already installed. SunCrate funds the base system. The expansion market is organic, village-funded, and grows with the economy it creates.
Public credit
Certified manufacturers are named in programme communications, deployment reports, and public materials. Every kit includes a component manifest identifying which manufacturers supplied which parts. When SunCrate reports on deployments, manufacturer contributions are credited by name.
Certified partner status
Manufacturers whose products meet the SunCrate kit specification receive formal certification. This is transferable credibility — useful for other institutional, government, and development bank procurements. A manufacturer certified for a 400,000-village deployment programme has a credential that no marketing budget can buy.
ESG and impact reporting
Quantifiable, auditable impact directly attributable to your components: villages powered, estimated CO₂ displaced, households reached, communication nodes active. Ready-made content for sustainability reports and ESG disclosures.
What Manufacturers Do Not Get
Exclusivity
The specification is open. Multiple manufacturers are certified per component category. This protects the programme against single-supplier risk and keeps pricing competitive. It also protects manufacturers — if one supplier has a production issue, the programme doesn't collapse and take their reputation with it.
Kit-level branding
Kits are SunCrate-branded. Component manifests identify suppliers. Programme communications credit manufacturers by name. But there are no "Jinko villages" or "CATL villages." The kit is a standard, not a brand showcase. This protects communities from being perceived as corporate marketing projects.
Retail margins
This is a volume procurement at institutional pricing, not a retail distribution channel. Pricing is volume-based and subject to independent audit as part of SunCrate's accountability to funders.
The Supply Chain
Manufacturers do not ship directly to villages. The supply chain is:
- Manufacturers ship components to the assembly factory
- Assembly factory mounts components to the pillar, wires the crate, tests each unit, packs into containers
- Containers ship to partner country ports via standard intermodal freight
- In-country logistics moves crates from port to regional hubs to villages
- Local crews deploy the kit on site
The manufacturer's relationship is with SunCrate and the assembly factory — not with governments, customs offices, or villages. SunCrate handles all downstream coordination.
Certification Process
- Manufacturer expresses interest and submits product specifications against the published SunCrate kit specification
- SunCrate verifies that the components meet the kit specification — dimensions, connector compatibility, and crate integration. Manufacturers already hold the relevant industry certifications (IEC, CE, UL, UN38.3, etc.) — we do not duplicate that testing.
- Components that pass receive SunCrate certification for the current specification version
- Certified components are listed in the public partner registry
- Certification is reviewed when the specification is updated
The specification is open and published. Manufacturers can evaluate whether their existing products meet the requirements before entering the certification process.
Co-Funding Opportunity
Manufacturers can also participate as funding partners. Supplying components at cost — as an in-kind contribution — reduces the cash requirement from donors while building the manufacturer's market position, public profile, and ESG credentials. Several funding structures support this, including component-specific earmarking ("fund all batteries for the first mass batch").
Get Involved
Manufacturers interested in participating as certified partners should contact SunCrate with:
- Company name and component category
- Indicative pricing at 10,000-unit and 100,000-unit scale
- Production capacity and lead times
- Existing certifications (IEC, UL, CE, UN38.3, etc.)
- Contact person for procurement coordination