Zimbabwe is seeking private investment in a proposed lithium battery assembly plant and two large-scale solar projects as the country attempts to attract capital into renewable energy and move further up the value chain of its mineral resources.
The projects are among investment opportunities promoted by the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency (ZIDA), covering manufacturing and renewable energy.
They include a proposed US$33 million lithium iron phosphate battery assembly and energy-storage facility in Midlands Province, a US$30 million solar project in Masvingo Province, and aUS$136.38 million solar development in Gweru.
The projects are being presented to potential investors rather than as completed or fully financed developments.
The most notable manufacturing proposal is being promoted by Orangerose Investments (Pvt) Ltd, which plans to establish a 2 gigawatt-hour lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, battery assembly and energy-storage facility in Midlands Province.
The project is described by ZIDA as a partnership between Orangerose and Australia’s National Power Storage.
The proposed facility would assemble, test, programme and certify LFP battery modules, battery packs and battery-energy-storage systems for utility, mining, industrial and commercial applications.
The developers estimate the project will require US$33 million.
According to the investment proposal shared by ZIDA, the plant would use imported battery cells to assemble large-capacity battery modules and packs.
That detail is significant for Zimbabwe, which has sought to capture more value from its lithium resources rather than relying solely on exports of raw or minimally processed minerals.
The proposed facility would therefore represent a move toward local battery manufacturing and energy-storage integration, but it would not initially manufacture the battery cells themselves.
The developers say the project would eventually localise patented LFP battery technology through a technology-transfer arrangement with National Power Storage. The facility is intended to serve Zimbabwe’s domestic market as well as customers elsewhere in the region.
The project proposal forecasts US$315.35 million in revenue over 25 years, with a projected gross profit margin of 46.6%, a net profit margin of 22% and a 4.1-year payback period. Those figures are financial projections supplied as part of the investment opportunity and have not been independently verified.
The battery proposal is being promoted against the backdrop of Zimbabwe’s electricity shortages and growing demand for alternative power sources. Energy storage could become particularly important for mines, manufacturers and commercial users that need reliable electricity and increasingly rely on solar power and other distributed generation.
The ZIDA portfolio also includes projects aimed at increasing Zimbabwe’s solar-generation capacity. In Masvingo Province, Camelzone Enterprises is seeking US$30 million in equity for a proposed 50MW AC, 60MW DC solar photovoltaic plant near the Tokwe Substation.
The project is designed to expand to 100MW.
The developer says the plant would use n-type TOPCon photovoltaic modules, 1,500-volt DC technology and single-axis tracking systems. It also proposes constructing an approximately 5-kilometre 132kV transmission line to connect the plant to the Tokwe Substation.
The project proposal says a generation licence has already been secured, a grid-impact study has been completed and preliminary environmental approvals are in place. It estimates annual electricity generation at 88.9 gigawatt-hours.
Camelzone projects revenue of US$170.53 million over 25 years, an internal rate of return of 20.37% and a five-year payback period. Those figures are projections contained in the investment proposal. A much larger solar development is being promoted for Gweru.
The Hunde Solar Power Project, promoted by Hupand Global Contractors (Private) Limited, is seeking US$136.38 million to develop a 100MW utility-scale solar photovoltaic plant in Midlands Province.
The project is intended to supply the national grid as well as private customers in the mining, industrial, commercial and residential sectors.
It is also linked to a proposed 3,750-unit mixed-use housing development, which the developer says could create an embedded electricity market. The project proposal says land has been secured and key development approvals are under way.
Hunde’s developers forecast US$317.43 million in revenue over 25 years and US$199.41 million in projected profit, with an estimated internal rate of return of 12.78% and an 11-year payback period. Those projections would need to be assessed independently by prospective investors.
Taken together, the two solar proposals represent 150MW of proposed initial AC generating capacity, while the Camelzone project has an expansion target of 100MW. The projects also reveal the scale of capital Zimbabwe needs to attract if it is to expand renewable electricity generation.
The three projects alone are seeking approximately US$199.38 million in capital.
ZIDA’s role is to market such opportunities to investors and facilitate investment into Zimbabwe. The agency’s promotion of the projects does not mean that the projects have necessarily reached financial close, begun construction or secured all necessary offtake arrangements. That distinction will be important for investors considering the proposals.
Zimbabwe has been trying to attract investment into renewable energy while also encouraging greater domestic beneficiation of its mineral resources. Lithium has become particularly important to that strategy.
The country is one of Africa’s significant lithium producers and has sought to discourage exports of unprocessed lithium ores in favour of domestic processing and beneficiation. Instead of exporting minerals and importing finished energy-storage equipment, the country wants to develop at least part of the manufacturing chain locally.
But the use of imported battery cells illustrates the limitations of that ambition. The proposal is fundamentally an assembly and energy-storage integration project, rather than a complete lithium-ion battery manufacturing operation.
The solar projects face their own challenges. Generation capacity must ultimately be connected to the electricity grid, while investors need confidence that projects will have reliable customers and predictable revenue.
