Emmanuel Obayagbona, a young inventor from Nigeria, has developed a groundbreaking idea to address the persistent power outage issues in the country. Inspired by Napoleon Hill’s belief in the power of the mind to achieve great things, Obayagbona conceived a project in 2004 during primary school that aimed to harness thunder lightning to generate constant electricity for Africa.
Despite initial skepticism, Obayagbona built a prototype of the project and, in a recent interview with WITHIN NIGERIA, provided insights into its workings. Born and raised in Warri, Delta State, he pursued Electrical Engineering at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu, where he received scholarships due to his inventive abilities.
The thunder lightning energy converter is designed to trap, harness, and convert the energy from a lightning strike into usable electricity for a remarkable duration of 5 years and 30 days per strike. Obayagbona emphasized the immense power of thunder lightning, with an average of 20 billion Watts and 330Mv voltage.
The converter comprises several zones, including trapping, storage/harnessing, sensoring, X, and transmission zones. It involves lightning arresting, resistance filters, high tension step-down transformers, and other components. Obayagbona envisions the project as a collaborative effort, involving government support, private individuals, international bodies, and professionals from various fields.
He emphasized the need for materials such as lightning arrestors, a 400-meter-high mast, energy banks, sensors, converters, and transformers. Obayagbona called on professionals like geographers, astronomers, engineers, and safety experts to join the research. While the exact cost remains undetermined, he believes the investment is worthwhile for a project that promises a lasting solution to Africa’s energy challenges.
Full article: I have solution to Nigeria energy crisis: Emma Scientist, IMT graduate declares (withinnigeria.com)