South Africa is to set to host one of the continent’s first giga lithion-ion battery factories.
The factory, a joint venture between South African energy company Megamillion and renowned Chinese electrochemist Henry Mao, will eventually have an annual production capacity of 32 Gwh, up from an initial 1 Gwh.
Mao, who owns almost 200 patents in lithium-ion technology, founded Tianjin Lishen Battery, China’s first large-scale producer of 18650 lithium-ion cells in the 1990s.
According to Engineering, Mao will transfer technology, equipment and skilled personnel to the South African operations in phases ‘over the next few years’, so that eventually all manufacturing will be based in Africa.
At first, dry cells will be manufactured in China, with electrolyte-filling and post-processing carried out in South Africa.
‘This approach minimises risk while rapidly developing local capabilities and skills,’ says Megamillion CEO and founder Nechan Naicker.
The facility’s batteries produced will be for stationary as well as mobility applications.