5 African Startups Advancing Battery Recycling


Africa generates 2.9 megatons of e-waste once a year, with most effective 20% recycled globally. This contains lithium-ion batteries, that are expensive to provide however can also be recycled to get better treasured fabrics and cut back power garage prices through as much as 70%. A number of African startups are addressing this rising problem through recycling and repurposing batteries, developing answers for power garage, lowering waste, and supporting native industries.

Key Highlights:

  • Hinckley Recycling (Nigeria): Operates complex recycling facilities, specializing in recuperating fabrics and repurposing batteries for solar-powered techniques.
  • SLS Energy (Rwanda): Extends the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries through turning them into power garage techniques for telecom towers and mini-grids.
  • Inno-Neat (Kenya): Converts discarded batteries into solar energy techniques, supporting families and blank water tasks.
  • Watercycle Applied sciences (UK) & EWaste Africa: A partnership leveraging world experience to recycle batteries and make stronger renewable power and e-mobility in Africa.
  • Thinkbikes (Nigeria): Repurposes computer batteries for electrical shipment motorcycles, providing sustainable transportation answers.

Those startups are reworking Africa’s e-waste drawback into alternatives for power garage, activity introduction, and sustainable growth. Their efforts spotlight the continent’s rising function within the world battery recycling business.

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Hinckley Recycling

Hinckley Recycling, Nigeria’s first government-approved e-waste recycler, is at the vanguard of battery recycling in Africa. Based totally in Lagos and running 4 assortment facilities around the nation, the corporate showcases how native answers can deal with world e-waste demanding situations successfully.

By way of combining native wisdom with world collaborations, akin to their partnership with Accurec in Germany, Hinckley has offered complex recycling ways at their Lagos facility. Their focal point is on dismantling electronics and recuperating treasured fabrics. One standout initiative is their collaboration with MOPO, which demonstrates a closed-loop device. Batteries from solar-powered condominium hubs are repurposed, selling renewable power use whilst minimizing environmental harm.

Adrian Clews, Managing Director of Hinckley E-waste Recycling, highlights their venture:

“Our focal point is on making a closed-loop device for battery recycling that addresses the rising problem of digital waste whilst selling a extra resilient and environmentally pleasant battery business.”

Via Innovate UK KTN’s International Alliance Africa challenge, Hinckley is operating on answers to trace, repurpose, and recycle batteries responsibly. Their services and products make certain that each step of the recycling procedure complies with environmental requirements, offering a protected and dependable device national.

Hinckley’s efforts no longer most effective minimize down the environmental and fiscal have an effect on of producing new batteries but additionally make stronger important industries like telecom and mini-grid power garage. Their manner highlights how native experience and world cooperation can deal with Africa’s battery recycling demanding situations, atmosphere an instance for others at the continent.

SLS Energy

SLS Power is creating a mark in Rwanda through giving retired lithium-ion batteries a brand new objective. The corporate repurposes those batteries into power garage techniques, essentially supporting telecom towers and mini-grids around the nation.

The usage of complex device and IoT-enabled tracking, SLS Power guarantees those second-life batteries are protected, environment friendly, and long-lasting. Their battery-as-a-service fashion has won traction in Rwanda’s telecom sector, tackling digital waste whilst assembly power garage calls for.

In collaboration with Hinckley Recycling, SLS Power is operating to make bigger its battery answers throughout Africa. As a part of Innovate UK’s Open Innovation program, the corporate is scaling its operations to offer recycled battery-based power answers around the continent.

By way of extending the lifetime of lithium-ion batteries, SLS Power no longer most effective reduces waste but additionally contributes to Africa’s shift towards renewable power. Their recycled battery techniques be offering unswerving power garage, addressing each environmental considerations and effort get admission to demanding situations in growing areas.

SLS Power highlights how African firms are the use of generation to unravel urgent problems like e-waste and effort get admission to, paving the way in which for sustainable growth.

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Inno-Neat

Inno-Neat, based in 2022 through Godfrey Simiyu Katiambo, is converting how battery waste is treated in Kenya. The corporate transforms discarded batteries into solar energy control techniques, addressing each e-waste and effort garage demanding situations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

With 3 prototypes already in motion, Inno-Neat helps 250 families and generates 5,000 liters of unpolluted water day-to-day – transparent proof in their have an effect on. Their efforts have earned them popularity, together with the Startup|Power Award at Power Camp East Africa in September 2021.

In partnership with Majicom, a water generation endeavor, Inno-Neat has expanded its succeed in. Mike Coto, CEO of Majicom, highlights the collaboration’s significance:

“Our collaboration with INNO-NEAT helps a greener, closed-loop device whilst boosting the native financial system.”

Their procedure cuts waste through 75% and emissions through 90%, providing a cleaner choice to conventional mining strategies. That is particularly essential in Sub-Saharan Africa, the place just about 90% of battery waste most often is going unrecycled.

Inno-Neat additionally produces recycled lithium-ion batteries designed for solar power techniques, assembly the area’s expanding call for for renewable power. By way of addressing battery waste and selling solar power, Inno-Neat is a part of a rising wave of African innovators tackling the continent’s e-waste drawback whilst advancing sustainable power answers.

4. Watercycle Applied sciences (UK) & EWaste Africa

Watercycle Applied sciences and EWaste Africa have teamed as much as take on Africa’s rising battery recycling demanding situations. This partnership targets to handle the emerging call for for lithium-ion battery recycling, pushed through the continent’s increasing tech panorama.

The usage of complex recycling strategies, the partnership specializes in extracting helpful fabrics from used batteries. This effort is atmosphere new benchmarks for battery recycling in Africa, with a focal point on areas experiencing speedy technological expansion. Their objective is to fulfill each quick and long run recycling wishes.

Past waste control, this collaboration performs a job in supporting Africa’s shift towards renewable power and e-mobility. By way of developing environment friendly recycling techniques, they’re running towards a round financial system that lessens reliance on uncooked fabrics whilst assembly the continent’s expanding power garage calls for.

This partnership combines world technical experience with native marketplace wisdom. EWaste Africa’s working out of regional demanding situations, paired with Watercycle Applied sciences’ technical talents, permits them to design answers adapted in particular for Africa. This combination of native perception and world technology highlights how African firms can pressure growth in sustainable power practices.

Their paintings illustrates how partnerships like this will reshape battery recycling in Africa, reaping rewards each the surroundings and native economies. It additionally paves the way in which for different projects, akin to Thinkbikes, to additional increase the field and advance sustainable answers around the continent.

Thinkbikes

Thinkbikes has carved a distinct segment in Africa through repurposing lithium-ion batteries from outdated laptops to be used of their electrical shipment motorcycles. Based through engineer Tolulope Olukokun in 2020, the corporate is at the back of Nigeria’s first electrical bicycles, mixing sensible design with a focal point on sustainability.

Their flagship product, the ThinkBikes CoolMAX, makes use of recycled computer batteries to ship a spread of 30-50 kilometers in step with price, speeds of as much as 40 kilometers in step with hour, and the facility to hold heavy shipment. A standout characteristic is their patented power recuperation device, which goes like regenerative braking in electrical automobiles, recuperating as much as 5% of power to spice up battery efficiency.

Tolulope Olukokun highlights the wider objective in their paintings:

“I consider electrical shipment motorcycles can turn into Nigeria’s financial system.”

To make stronger this imaginative and prescient, Thinkbikes has additionally offered solar-powered recharging stations, making a extra sustainable transportation community.

By way of tackling Nigeria’s transportation demanding situations with electrical shipment motorcycles, Thinkbikes gives an eco-friendly and cost-effective mobility choice. Their efforts cut back e-waste, decrease emissions, and bolster native economies. Impressively, 60-65% in their motorcycle elements are sourced inside of Nigeria, showcasing the possibility of native production to pressure sustainable generation.

In popularity in their paintings, Thinkbikes gained the 2022 BOI Award of Excellence in Production. Their method to recycling and e-mobility serves as a fashion for sustainable transportation throughout Africa.

Conclusion

Battery recycling in Africa is seeing a big shift, because of startups tackling the continent’s rising e-waste problems whilst offering cleaner power answers. With Africa producing 2.9 Megatons of e-waste once a year [1], those firms are stepping as much as flip demanding situations into alternatives.

Take Hinckley Recycling, for instance. Their infrastructure investments are making waves, whilst others like SLS Power, Inno-Neat, Watercycle Applied sciences & EWaste Africa, and Thinkbikes are pushing limitations with inventive approaches. Those efforts aren’t with regards to recycling – they’re using activity introduction, supporting native industries, and development a more potent round financial system.

From specialised recycling amenities to complex repurposing strategies and packages in e-mobility, those startups are reshaping the panorama. Their paintings helps Africa emerge as a significant contender within the world battery business, all whilst addressing pressing environmental considerations.

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