Zimbabwe Achieves Lithium Battery Breakthrough After Local Test Success
Zimbabwe has recorded a major breakthrough in energy innovation after Verify Engineering successfully completed a year-long test run of locally manufactured lithium-ion batteries with zero failures.
The firm, established under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development, says the pilot signals national readiness to industrialise lithium beneficiation and reduce reliance on imported components.
Verify Engineering (Private) Limited, formed in April 2005, is mobilising 28 million United States dollars to set up a full-scale lithium-ion battery production plant.
Engineer Pedzisai Tapfumaneyi, the company’s chief executive, told The Herald the move builds directly on the successful test run and aims to position Zimbabwe at the forefront of lithium battery manufacturing.
The breakthrough has drawn praise across the education, science, and industrial sectors.
“This is what we have been yearning for as a country. Now that initiatives like this are yielding results, we must leverage their success to launch full commercial production,” said university lecturer Mr Agrippa Mhundirwa.
Science teacher Mrs Egenia Sithole praised the project’s long-term benefits.
“Verify Engineering has made it clear they are exploring how to reduce raw material imports to below 20 percent. This means Zimbabwe will soon produce lithium-ion batteries locally — lowering market prices and boosting exports that generate vital foreign currency,” she said.
Metallurgy expert Mr Edward Mutaka noted Zimbabwe’s vast resource potential.
“We are endowed with natural resources that can sustain our economy if fully exploited. This successful battery test proves what is possible when such initiatives receive financial support,” said Mutaka.
Dr Patricia Machingambi, a university lecturer, stressed the need to invest in local capabilities.
“No country has made real progress relying solely on foreign partners. Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo’ is more than a motto — it is proof we can succeed with home-grown innovation, as this battery breakthrough shows,” she said.
Presidential Communications Chief Director Mr George Charamba weighed in via platform X, citing the value gap in lithium processing.
“Lithium ore sells for 560 United States dollars per metric tonne internationally, while battery-grade concentrate averages 7,810 United States dollars. That is what value addition does,” he wrote.
He applauded Verify Engineering’s role in shifting Zimbabwe towards green energy and electric vehicle production.
“This is a key transition to green energy, meaning the prospects of generalised manufacturing and use of electric vehicles in the country are now enhanced. lt also dovetails with the new statutory instrument increasing export requirements for lithium.
“The spin-offs to the economy and to the region are huge. Above all, once the country goes on an industrial path and trajectory, the transition and bandwagon effect simply grow by leaps and bounds. Well done Zimbabwe!”
This milestone signals a shift from ambition to action. With plans underway for full-scale production, Zimbabwe is no longer just exporting lithium — it is building an industry.
-Herald
