Community Verified source

Sheffield battery company plans £55m Nigeria expansion to widen access to solar-powered electricity

MOPO has signed an agreement for investment of up to $75m in Nigeria by 2030, expanding solar-charged battery hubs for communities without reliable grid electricity.

By The TEA Editorial Desk · 28 August 2026

A market in Lagos, Nigeria, where distributed battery power can support homes and businesses Image: Reuters / The IndependentOriginal source

Need something explained?Tap a highlighted word, phrase or concept, or select any part of the article and choose Explain this.

A Sheffield green-technology company has signed an agreement that could see up to $75 million, around £55 million, invested in expanding solar-powered battery access across Nigeria by 2030.

MOPO operates hubs that charge portable batteries using solar power, then rents them to households and businesses in places where reliable grid electricity is limited.

The batteries are designed, tested and managed from Sheffield. The company is now recording around 1.6 million rentals a month across Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Chad and Uganda, up from about 150,000 in 2023.

The ambition is not a conventional national grid with more pylons. It is a distributed system where renewable electricity can arrive in a portable box, one rental at a time.