The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure, NASENI, has called on investors to collaborate with it in local production and domestication of Lithium batteries among other renewable energy solutions.
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI Dr, Bashir Gwandu, speaking on Monday in Abuja said 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 vehicles parts and other capital goods that could create jobs and reduce Nigeria dependence on foreign goods that exert pressure on our foreign exchange for the country.
Gwandu who made the call while receiving a business delegation from LEMI Technology Shenzhen, China, at NASENI headquarters said that “NASENI is already doing a lot in the area of Solar Panel Production”.
He said very soon NASENI would attract solar cell manufacturing to improve synergy with its existing work on solar panel assembly.
He said the agency had held meetings with other companies from around the world with a view to seeking partnership on local production of lithium-based end-products in Nigeria as against the normal practice of foreign companies exporting the raw materials outside the country for processing.
According to him, taking some of the visions of NASENI forward, which is domestication of technologies, capital goods production and commercialization in Nigeria, NASENI would help bridge the technological gaps between Nigeria and other countries, help stop importation of the technologies and encourage local production.
He also said NASENI would be working with the National Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, to encourage development and production of electric vehicles and even conversion of existing vehicles to electric-vehicles as against producing from scratch.
In that same regard, NASENI is also in discussion with various stakeholders on promotion of the installation of electric vehicle charging stations on major roads across the country.
“So, we are inviting friends of Nigeria to come here 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,” he said.
The NASENI EVC said he hoped that the call was an opportunity to partners who might want to produce in Nigeria to do so.
The federal government, he disclosed, “would welcome any company who gets to us first”, adding that on the production of Lithium batteries, the agency was ready to go into partnership with companies that are willing to establish their factories in Nigeria.
Gwandu suggested that NASENI and LEMI Technology should work out the areas of possible collaborations in the production of the lithium battery and ensure that all the safety and environment regulations are followed.
While emphasizing NASENI’s priority area to be the production of lithium battery and inverters, Dr Gwandu expressed delight in working out a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LEMI Technology with a view to ensuring safest means of producing the lithium-based batteries, taking into cognizance Nigeria environmental peculiarities.
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The founder of LEMI Technology, Ms. Joyce Chen, in her speech said the company was ready to partner with NASENI and invest in the country, promising that they look forward to a rewarding relationship with NASENI and the Nigerian government.
Other members of the delegation include the Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Rocky Hu; Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Biju Yao; Oversea Business Director, Ms. Monica Liang and Engineer Mr. Lucia Peng.
Giving details of the visit, the Chief Executive Officer of LEMI Technology Mr. Xie Feng expressed his company’s willingness to partner with NASENI through MoU on renewable energy with particular reference to products like solar and television panels, inverters and battery production.
He said Nigeria and China had a brotherhood that spanned many years, adding that Nigeria with its teeming population, was critical for investment opportunities.
Mr. Feng added that LEMI Technology had been operating in the Nigerian market since 2018 and had provided job opportunities to Nigerians and have sold renewable energy products to over 200,000 Nigerian households.
NASENI is the Nigerian only purpose-built agency with specific mandate in the area of capital goods research, production, and reverse engineering in the following broad areas: Engineering Materials, Industrial and Analytical Chemical Materials, Scientific Equipment and components, Engineering Equipment, Engineering Designs and Standardization, and Power Equipment.
