THE Mozambican government has announced plans to establish an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in the country to meet the increasing demand of both local and global markets. Transport and Communications Minister Mateus Magala said on Wednesday that the plant would use the country’s abundant graphite resources, a key raw material in lithium batteries for electric vehicles.
‘In the coming years, we are thinking of introducing electric vehicles, and even next year we would like to start assembling electric buses in the country. And for that, we need batteries, and we have raw materials to produce batteries,’ Magala stated at a press conference with Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yamada Kenji.
Mozambique is one of the world’s leading producers of graphite, and it is currently supplying Tesla with raw materials to produce electric batteries. The government hopes to attract additional investments from Japan, a major global player in the EV industry.
Magala’s announcement comes as the global market for electric vehicles is growing rapidly, with many countries pushing to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles in favour of EVs as part of efforts to tackle climate change.
The move by Mozambique to establish a battery plant is expected to have a significant impact on the country’s economy and create job opportunities for its citizens. The country has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the battery plant is expected to stimulate economic growth and diversify its resource-dependent economy.
Magala added, ‘We believe that the battery plant project will generate considerable income and employment, which is vital for Mozambique, given the challenges we face, including poverty and the negative impact of climate change.’
