Zimbabwe company ventures into lithium battery production

Verify Engineering, a Zimbabwean company, has started lithium battery production, aligning with Zimbabwe's focus on mineral value addition and beneficiation. With Africa's largest lithium reserves, Zimbabwe banned raw lithium exports to curb smuggling, which was costing the country US$1.8 billion annually. The government also approved the Lithium Ore Policy to support beneficiation and is building a Mines to Energy Industrial Park in Mapinga.

The industrial park will include two 300MW power stations, a coking plant, a lithium salt plant, a graphite processing plant, a nickel-chromium alloy smelter, and a nickel sulphate plant. Verify Engineering, under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, already manufactures oxygen, primarily for export to Mozambique.

Professor Fanuel Tagwira, the Ministry's Permanent Secretary, stated that Verify Engineering is progressing toward commercial lithium battery production, with future plans for electric vehicle batteries. The company's oxygen plant in Feruka, Mutare, is fully operational, producing oxygen, acetylene, and liquid nitrogen.

Professor Tagwira emphasized the empowerment of local communities and the significant role of Zimbabwean students in these projects. He noted that the Ministry's initiatives are entirely local, highlighting Zimbabwe's capable workforce. Successful local production of vehicle number plates, previously imported from Germany, exemplifies this approach.

Verify Engineering, established in 2005, has advanced significantly under the Second Republic, becoming a key player in technology development and application in Zimbabwe.