By Ngozi Nwankwo
British High Commissioner visits Ogun and Lagos announces $5m investment to establish first battery recycling facility in Nigeria
The $5m investment is to establish Nigeria’s first battery recycling facility in Ogun State,
The British High Commissioner, Dr. Richard Montgomery, has concluded a productive visit to Lagos and Ogun States, underscoring the United Kingdom’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations and supporting development initiatives in these key regions.
During the four-day visit, the High Commissioner met with Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, engaging in discussions focused on enhancing economic ties, driving investments, prosperity opportunities and future priorities that could be beneficial to the states and the UK.
A key highlight of the visit to Ogun State was the announcement and signing of a letter of intent by UK company, Hinckley, to establish Nigeria’s first battery recycling facility in the state. The $5m investment provided by UK’s Manufacturing Africa (MA) will create a lithium-ion battery and lead acid battery recycling and treatment plant in Ogun State using patented recycling technology.
In Lagos, Dr. Montgomery met with Chief Emeka Anyaoku, and some business leaders in Nigeria including the CEOs of Airtel Nigeria, Standard Chartered, Nigeria Helios Investment Partners, Afrinvest and KPMG West Africa.
At the end of the visit, the British High Commissioner, Dr. Richard Montgomery, said: “My visit to Lagos and Ogun States has reinforced the strong ties between our two great countries.
“Both states are key to boosting Nigeria’s economic prosperity and the UK is committed to driving that growth, promoting trade and supporting their developments.”
On the $5m investment to establish Nigeria’s first battery recycling facility in Ogun State, he said: “It is fantastic that Hinckley Recycling is committing to establish the first battery recycling facility in Nigeria, creating a new high-value addition export industry in Ogun State and 100 new jobs. Congratulations to the Commissioners and to OgunInvest who worked with Hinckley to make this groundbreaking project a reality.
“The UK fully supports His Excellency Governor Abiodun’s mission to bring new investment and new jobs into Ogun State. The UK Government’s development finance bank British International Investment invested $15m into Valency International last year, and the UK’s Manufacturing Africa programme is supporting four other companies in Ogun State to raise capital and expand their production facilities.”
It is learnt that Hinckley Recycling became the first government approved E-Waste recycler in Nigeria in 2016.
Hinckley is expanding its E-Waste business to create a lithium-ion battery and lead acid battery recycling and treatment plant in Nigeria using patented recycling technology; the local treatment and manufacturing plant will be the first of its kind in Africa.
The project will lead to an investment of $4.5m and will create 100 direct jobs. Manufacturing Africa provided them with a market study and corporate finance support. They have identified a site in Ogun state for their facility.