- Avatar New Energy Materials Company Limited installed the processing facility in Nasarawa State.
- The facility will have a daily production capacity of 4,000 tons of lithium and generate $500 million in revenue.
Avatar New Energy Materials Company Limited, a Chinese mining firm, has inaugurated a lithium processing facility in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. According to the firm, this lithium processing facility will generate $500 million in revenue.
The facility, poised to meet Nigeria’s ambitions of becoming a solar and battery energy storage hub in Africa, will have a daily production capacity of 4,000 tons of lithium.
Lithium is a major component of lithium-ion batteries, which power electronics such as electric vehicles and smartphones. Due to their high energy density and low cost per cycle, lithium-ion batteries offer many benefits over other types of batteries. They are a safe and reliable battery solution.
Lithium-ion batteries can hold high voltage and exceptional charge, making it an efficient, dense form of energy storage. The batteries also have a high power-to-weight ratio, high energy efficiency, high-temperature performance, long life, and low self-discharge.
Also, most components of lithium-ion batteries can be recycled, but the cost of material recovery remains challenging for the industry.
In his remarks on the project, President Bola Tinubu said, “While we appreciate this investment in the first phase, processing of lithium, our goal is for investors to establish factories for the complete value chain processing of lithium and all other minerals.”
The project aligns with Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to diversify the economy by investing in mining for economic growth and socioeconomic development.
In addition, Avatar New Energy plans to mine lithium in the region for the next 15 to 20 years with the new lithium processing facility.