The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has called on investors to collaborate with the agency in local production and domestication of lithium batteries, among other renewable energy solutions.
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NASENI Dr, Bashir Gwandu, speaking in Abuja, said the agency was ready to partner with international companies that are willing to set up their industries in Nigeria.
He said this while receiving a business delegation from LEMI Technology Shenzhen, China at NASENI Headquarters.
Gwandu added in a release by the agency’s Director of Information and Protocol, Mr. Olusegun Ayeoyenikan, that “NASENI is already doing a lot in the area of Solar Panel Production.”
Gwandu said starting local production of renewable energy solutions, electric vehicles parts and other capital goods could create jobs and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign goods that exert pressure on our foreign exchange for the country.
According to him, NASENI will very soon attract solar cell manufacturing to improve synergy with its existing work on solar panel assembly.
He said the agency has 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.
This, he said, was as against the normal practice of foreign companies exporting the raw materials outside the country for processing.
According to Gwandu, some of the visions of NASENI included domestication of technologies, capital goods production and commercialisation in Nigeria.
By these visions, he said NASENI would help bridge the technological gaps between Nigeria and other countries and stop importation of these technologies and encourage local production.
The NASENI boss said the agency will partner the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) to encourage the 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,” Dr Gwandu said.
The NASENI EVC hoped that the call would be an opportunity for partners who want to produce in Nigeria to do so.
The Federal Government, he said, “would welcome any company who gets to us first”, Gwandu said.
On the production of lithium batteries, he said 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.
He also emphasised the priority area of NASENI to be the production of lithium battery and inverters and expressed delight in working out a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with LEMI Technology.
This he said was with a view to ensuring safest means of producing the lithium-based batteries, taking into cognizance the Nigerian environmental peculiarities.
Responding, the founder of LEMI Technology, Ms. Joyce Chen, said the company is ready to partner with NASENI and invest in the country.
She said LEMI Technology look forward to a rewarding relationship with NASENI and the Nigerian government.
Giving details of the visit, the Chief Executive Officer of LEMI Technology, Mr. Xie Feng, said the company is willingness to partner with NASENI.
This, he said, would be possible through an MoU on renewable energy with particular reference to products like solar and television panels, inverters and battery production.
He said Nigeria and China have a brotherhood that spans many years, adding that, Nigeria with its teeming population, it is critical for investment opportunities.
Feng said LEMI Technology has 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.
Other members of the delegation included the Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Rocky Hu; Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Biju Yao; Oversea Business Director, Ms. Monica Liang and Engineer Mr. Lucia Peng.
NASENI is the Nigerian only purpose-built Agency with specific mandate in the area of capital goods research, production, and reverse engineering in some broad areas.
These, he said, included engineering materials, industrial and analytical chemical materials, scientific equipment and components, engineering equipment, engineering designs and standardisation, and power equipment.
