Nigeria is seeking to collaborate with foreign investors for local production and domestication of lithium batteries and other sources of renewable energy.
Executive Vice Chairman of the country’s National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), Dr Bashir Gwandu, stated this while receiving a business delegation from LEMI Technology in Shenzhen, China, at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, recently.
Dr. Gwandu noted that the agency was ready to partner with international companies that are willing to set up their industries in Nigeria and start local production of renewable energy solutions, electric vehicle parts, and other capital goods that could create jobs.
He revealed that NASENI would soon attract solar cell manufacturing to improve synergy with its existing work on solar panel assembly.
According to him, the agency had held meetings with other companies from around the world seeking partnerships on local production of lithium-based end-products in Nigeria.
His words: “So, we are inviting friends of Nigeria to come and establish here. We are encouraging those who can come and produce locally. We will give them support and ensure that the investment environment is encouraging.”
The NASENI boss added that NASENI was set to work with the National Automotive Design and Development Council to encourage the development and production of electric vehicles and the conversion of existing vehicles to electric vehicles.
Gwandu suggested that NASENI and LEMI Technology should work out the areas of possible collaboration in the production of the lithium battery.
While emphasising the agency’s priority area to be the production of lithium batteries and inverters, he expressed delight in working out a memorandum of Understanding with LEMI Technology with a view to ensuring the safest means of producing those lithium-based batteries.
The founder of LEMI Technology, Ms Joyce Chen, said the company was ready to partner with NASENI and invest in Nigeria.
