Ratings Solarex

why blockchain is really needed here? Especially taken into account the current state of tech. 65 mln usd hard cap? Does the team understand the current state of ico market, and can it be successful? No competitive analysis with other possible solutions, no business planning in numbers, the wp should be improved. MVP should not like the video

Team is good and advisors are having a vast experience in blcokchain ICO industry

Github repository is empty.

Disclaimer: This is not an investment advice, please do your own study before doing any investment.

The project is not original, there are already many trying to launch similar products and as in other cases it is not very clear the additional value that the Blockchain can bring to the project and vice-versa, even if the cause is a noble one. The presumed initial savings that would be for the purchase of electricity would then be poured into the ethereum blockchain for transaction costs.

The team is large and well composed and some members have a great background. Several blockchain developers are also presented, but at the moment there is no activity on github, if not a couple of files that refer to the creation of the token, just as the MVP turns out to be just a demonstrative video shot in "tutorial" mode by one of the team members.

Social and channels of communication well-kept, with updates almost daily and with good community numbers. Even the website and the whitepaper are quite well composed and presented, but from the latter the business plan can not be deduced well, while tokenomics is not very clear. In fact there is no concrete "value proposition" that leads to mass adoption, or any incentive for token holders. For which reason one must buy tokens and hold them, what are the benefits? Bad on the website instead, the previous Hardcap cut and next to a new Hardcap, a sign that there is indecision of means.

The token distribution is accurate and has balanced numbers, as well as the use of the alleged funds.

Being still in the pre-ICO phase, we can give them more time for the various improvements and updates on a technical level, but they should not be long in coming.

Good luck in developments and fundraising.

Update

My name is Iulian and not Lulian :)

Regarding points 1 and 2, I reviewed the parameters and increased the score slightly, to reflect it with the commitment and work you are dedicating.

Regarding points 3 and 4, there remains only a promise from you and your opinion, but not all of us have the same vision and not everyone sees it in the same way.

Remember that here on Icobench the experts are volunteers and we are dedicating a job exclusively to the Blockchain community, we are not here for other interests. Our ratings are our personal opinions and are not encouragement to invest or not invest, and are given through the knowledge that each of us has acquired over the past few years, touring the conferences or some of us, running an ICO or more than one.

I think the idea could be really beneficial for Africa, but I don't see a reason why this project will succeed. There is no reason why this is THE project to give electricity to the African people. Also, when questioned, I never got a full answer. I was told this is a great project. This is a major reason for my negative rating. The amount they are trying to raise is ridiculously high for the market conditions. Also, the majority of the team members are not mentioned on LinkedIn, so I do not know if there is an actual team. Would stay away unless there's real evidence in the future.

Dear ICOBench community,


Please note that before reviewing this project & ICO/IEO, I conducted my own DD : team background, competitors, project history, various analysis and KPIs, growth potential and a lot more factors. Also note that the results of this analysis are simply my understanding of the project and might or might not be entirely accurate for different reasons (lack of information, misunderstandings, etc.).


Here are the results of this analysis :

- Team : It appears that the team has professional and experienced key members team. My only issue is that several team members are not linked to the project on LinkedIn or on other social platforms.

Nonetheless, this is definitely worth a 4/5 for the team.

- Vision : It is not the first project targeting this industry but it is a great idea nonetheless. Electricity is the first energy being used worldwide and providing an access for every human being is a dream I sincerely hope we will achieve in the near future. If this project can help achieve this goal even just a little, then I vouch for it.

This is why I am giving a 5/5 for the vision.

- Product : There is an existing MVP, which is something most projects don't have before their ICO/IEO. It is lacking a lot of key features and could definitely be enhanced (even at the MVP stage) but they still have a product to present which proves the team is working seriously on the project.

This is why I am giving a 4/5 for the product.


I invite investors to conduct their own DD before investing time / money on any project.

- Pros
✅ Vision
✅ Good team

- Cons
⛔️ No blockchain need
⛔️ MVP should not be a video
⛔️ Very high hard cap

Even if this project has good intentions, I really don't see a future for it, there's not a product ready at the moment, and it lacks of many important information.

I have been in renewable energy sector (hydro and solar) for over 8 years and I really see that the vision here is strong. Solarex is not the first project trying to figure out how to use blockchain for renewable energy. So far, as far as I know, none of them have been successful, maybe this time it can be different and the team can deliver. Distributed generation is the near future and a global trend, everybody including large utilities and private equity funds are looking into this business. Price of solar panels drops from year to year.

If you think about Africa, Nigeria is the right place to start this project: the largest population growing quickly and very high cost of energy. Electrification of rural areas can be done by off-grid installations replacing (or at least reducing) usage of diesel generators. Rooftop solar can be used on companies to reduce electricity bill and high power photovoltaic irrigation systems (either off-grid or hybrid). You may have a look at such a project/technology financed by European Commission Horizon 2020 here: https://maslowaten.eu/?page_id=579&lang=en

Financing of solar photovoltaic projects is not new, SolarCity in the US and other large companies have been doing it in Europe. Most of the European and US economic models work due to the benefit of the feed-in tariffs. The high cost of electricity in African counties and the constant reduction of the cost of the solar panels may guarantee the viability of the economic model. Solar panels are easy to install and pretty cheap to maintain. Almost any decent manufacturer offers 25 years of guarantee (well, at least a guarantee that the panels will deliver at 80% of the capacity during the period). Complex civil works are not necessary, only cost are panels, inverter and minor equipment.

The problem with solar energy is, well, the sun does not shine 24/7 and the generating capacity may be affected during daytime irradiation by bad weather or clouds. There are some algorithms being designed who are able to mitigate that, but for instance a factory using rooftop solar to reduce the cost of energy is not able to rely upon 100% on solar energy as unplanned halt may damage the industrial equipment.

Most of the systems try to solve this incorporating to the installation a batteries to store the energy. The problem with energy storage is that those systems increase the cost and complexity of the installation (batteries will need replacement several times during the 25y period). As of the state of technology today, the most efficient solution is to use hybrid systems (diesel generator or grid connection) whenever it is possible.

The mechanisms to finance solar projects are clear: either a solar lease or a PPA. The question would be here about the ownership of the installation and the generated PV. If the project company has the ownership of the installation then, the sale of the excess energy to the grid should be done by the owner of the installation. As I explained before, the vision is very good, guys are digging where they should.

The team looks strong, lots of people with different backgrounds, people with local knowledge of project implementation in Nigeria and also profiles with expertise in blockchain. Advisors seem also the adequate. The main question I would have here is to know how tight this star team is working together to bring up the project. How deep are they committed to the vision and to project implementation? If the commitment is not intensive by all the member, the project execution may suffer.

The implementation of blockchain for this kind of project comes natural. Distributed solar photovoltaic generation facilities owned by small companies or private individuals will have the possibility to sell the excessive energy to the users who need it. Blockchain as a decentralized technology offers trust and confirmation on the transaction. There are already some projects working on this, including the Catalan Energy Institute in Spain.

The digital asset is presented as a utility token but the white paper mentions that the token may end up giving some revenue or economic benefit. This needs to be carefully analyzed as this may end up drawing you into financial regulation considering the token as a security (with all the complexity this may mean). Review carefully the solar project finance initiative from the financial regulation perspective to avoid offering securities to the market.

I have seen the MVP for p2p trading platform. You can buy and sell energy through this system but the main question is how will you be able to execute and deliver this off-chain. How will you link the transfer of value on the blockchain with the transfer of energy in the real world. The Project Financing Demo is still not available. I´m afraid that the end product you are offering is a far too ambitious: you want it all and want to develop this in parallel. You are trying to put too many things in place, that´s the main reason for low rate. All of them are necessary and can be feasible but you need to focus. The dispersion of team focus and resources -including funds- may lead to a disaster. Don’t be too ambitious. You can either start local and grow global one step at time (but this will take you more time than what you suggested). Alternatively you can develop you own global blockchain solution, be the platform and have several pilot projects running on it for proving your point.

I wish you good luck in the crowdfunding and will be happy to watch project development closely, see how you pivot and come up with interesting solutions.

This review is a personal opinion based on my personal and professional experience. It does not constitute any recommendation to invest or not to invest into this project, please do your own research and assessment.