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The African dream: A battery in every home and office

Nothing symbolises the transition in Africa quite like this one item, now ever more ubiquitous

July 16, 2026

Welcome to Green Rising – The solar panel is perhaps the single best known driver of Africa’s green transformation. But the humble battery is catching up. 

The fast rise of renewable energy across the continent is partly behind this (as well as technical innovation). Solar and wind power are intermittent. The sun is available only half the time, and wind sometimes even less. That makes it exceedingly important not only to generate electricity but to store it. 

We have reported on this before, most recently in February. But the battery sector doesn’t stand still. As we showcase today, batteries can now be rented, they are mobile and soon many will be manufactured on the continent

Rental battery services, which let customers pay per use in much the same way as PAYGo solar, are gaining momentum. UK-funded Mopo announced that it reached 40 million battery rentals last month. bPOWERd, backed by oil major BP, announced its expansion into Nigeria, Africa's largest market for people without access to reliable electricity.

  • Mopo operates in six African markets, including Nigeria, where it now faces competition from bPOWERd. So far, Mopo has raised at least $28 million, mainly from British International Investment.

  • Nigeria, the DR Congo and Ethiopia account for about a third of Africans without electricity, making them a key market for battery rentals. The model could also serve small businesses that cannot afford generators. 

  • Our take: Battery rentals turn storage into daily cash flow, but only if utilisation holds … Read more (2 min)

South Korean conglomerate LG has revived a project to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in Morocco. LG aims to produce 50,000 tonnes of lithium-phosphate-iron (LFP) cathode materials annually at the factory, enough to be installed in 500,000 entry-class EVs. LG makes the more expensive nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathodes in Asia.

  • Global demand for cheaper EVs is growing. The battery is the most expensive component of an EV, forcing battery manufacturers to shift to the production of cheaper LFP batteries over the costlier NMC batteries.  

  • Morocco is Africa’s largest EV battery producer after attracting billions of dollars in investments. While the majority of the batteries are for global markets, Africa is expected to gain from sourcing EV batteries closer to home.

  • Our take: Morocco's battery boom will matter more for Africa when it starts serving African EV demand… Read more (2 min)

Nigeria has commissioned West Africa's largest lithium processing plant, with an annual capacity of three million tonnes. It adds to the growing number of mineral processing projects across Africa and moves the continent closer to a vertically integrated lithium battery industry. Morocco and South Africa have already ventured into battery manufacturing.

  • Africa is moving away from a "dig and ship" model, long favoured by industrial economies like China. By exporting raw minerals instead of processing them locally, Africa loses an estimated $24 billion in potential GDP each year.

  • The continent is seeing a growing policy focus on mineral beneficiation, with countries such as Zimbabwe, the DR Congo, Ghana and Namibia introducing measures that require lithium to be processed locally before export.

  • Our take: Africa's success should be measured not only by export earnings, but by built industries, created jobs, and generated lasting economic value… Read more (2 min)

Number of the week

…is the wastewater Africa generates annually, largely discharged untreated, an untapped resource. Nations are starting to look beyond rivers, dams, and aquifers for water security, viewing wastewater as recoverable for reclaimed water, energy, nutrients, and industrial feedstocks in the circular economy.

Network corner

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👉 Constant N’Zi appointed as African Guarantee Fund’s Group CEO to guide growth and strengthen financial sustainability.

Top green jobs from…

EVENTS UPDATE 

📆 Attend the Infra for Africa Forum in Tanzania (August 5)

📆 Sign Up for the World Health Expo in Kenya (September 16) 

📆 Join the C.E. and Economic Transformation Summit in South Africa (August 21)

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