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The humble battery is the key to Africa’s transformation

Half a billion Africans may never connect to a grid. But they will all use a battery every day

February 19, 2026

Welcome to Green Rising – When archeologists one day unearth the remains of the African civilisational revival of the mid-21st century, batteries will likely be the artifact that ties together digs across the continent. 

Once a luxury or rarity, batteries today appear in household items from lights and phones to toys, TVs and motorbikes, transforming ways of life. Many Africans have stopped waiting to be connected to power grids. Others enjoy (mini-)grids backed by batteries. 

How this unfolds is not only revolutionary but also fascinating. We have collected three insights from the ground up, both macro and micro. Battery shortages are causing new pain points, and not all battery makers will win. The situation is charged.

Battery storage begins to displace fossil fuel plants

For decades, peak power demand across Africa has been met by diesel and heavy fuel oil plants that are expensive to run and slow to respond. But a shift is now underway, with Senegal this week inaugurating West Africa’s first grid-connected solar-plus-storage facility dedicated to frequency regulation, reducing reliance on fossil fuels during peak demand.

  • The continent now has an estimated 1.6-2.0 GWh of grid-connected battery storage, up from less than 200 MWh in 2019. Most of this capacity has been installed within the past three years, marking a turning point in deployment.

  • South Africa leads the continent, accounting for over 86% of total operational grid-scale projects. This includes the landmark Kenhardt solar-plus-storage project, which alone contributed 1.14 GWh of capacity.

  • Our take: Policy, not technology, is now the main constraint to adoption… Read more (2 min)

A battery shortage is quietly unfolding in Kenya, forcing electric motorcycle riders to queue at swapping stations, sometimes for hours, to get fully recharged batteries. A spot check by our reporters at a handful of swapping stations run by various companies showed riders in long queues. The battery shortage appears to affect several of the largest players.

  • Companies need more than one battery per motorcycle on the road to allow for effective swapping. But the high investment needed has seen them struggle to deploy batteries fast enough to meet demand. Experts say this forces existing batteries to be overused, causing a “doom loop”.

  • Ampersand CEO Josh Whale said: “Overstretched batteries that don’t get a chance to fully charge run into reliability issues, which means batteries drop out of service. So, you have fewer batteries in the network, so more stress on those remaining.” 

  • Our take: Operators must build strong battery supply chains to maintain a healthy battery inventory ratio per bike… Read more (2 min)

Eveready East Africa is making a major shift from dry-cell batteries to clean energy, e-mobility and carbon markets. The company has partnered with Chinese giants Huawei Technologies and Jinko Solar to roll out solar and digital power solutions targeting all market segments, from residential systems to commercial, industrial and utility-scale projects.

  • The energy transition is forcing companies that relied on polluting technologies to adapt, with some making partial shifts to clean tech. Lead-acid battery makers like Chloride Exide and ABM now offer solar and energy storage solutions.

  • At the same time, the rise of electric vehicles and falling lithium battery prices are putting pressure on lead-acid batteries, increasing the risk that they become obsolete as cheaper, more efficient alternatives take over.

  • Our take: Targeting everything from residential to utility scale risks spreading capital too thin… Read more (2 min)

Number of the week

…  is the amount of revenue that state utility Kenya Power generated from EV charging in 2025. This triples the previous year's figure. The utility does not track home charging, so actual revenue will be significantly higher. EV charging is a new income stream for utilities losing customers to rooftop solar. Kenya registered 24,754 EVs last year, a 31-fold increase from 2022. Nearly 94% are electric motorcycles.

Network corner

❝

👉 Mozambique’s Lidia Arthur Brito appointed as UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General in charge of Priority Africa and external relations.

👉 Rwanda’s BioMassters nominated in top three Quality Energy Access finalists for the Start Up Energy Transition (SET) Award.

Top green jobs from…

EVENTS UPDATE 

📆 Join the Conservation Tech & Drone Forum in Kenya (March 2)

📆 Attend the Solar & Storage conference in South Africa (March 25)

📆. Sign Up for North Africa’s Energy Expo in Egypt (March 30)

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