ENGIE Energy Access, Nigeria’s leading clean and sustainable energy solutions provider, has said that its newly executed partnership with the Hinckley Group to recycle old and end-of-use batteries will minimise the incidence of environmental pollution caused by inappropriate disposal of old Lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries and the consequent harm it poses to Nigerians.
The official signing of the partnership agreement was held in Lagos recently. Thereafter, Hinckley Group will pick up old batteries from ENGIE Energy Access’ Lagos warehouse for reprocessing.
Bankole Cardoso, managing director of ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria, listed various benefits the partnership will yield, both as individuals and as a nation including environmental protection, economic development, cost reduction, amongst others.
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“This partnership will be to the benefit of Nigeria, both as individuals and as a nation. It will minimise environmental pollution that could occur through inappropriate disposal of waste batteries, make for recovery of non-renewable materials used in the making of batteries, reduce cost of new batteries, reduce the risks of fire and explosion, among others,” Cardoso said.
“We have been operating in Nigeria since 2019 as Fenix International and have had great success, impacting the lives of over 200,000 Nigerians who lack access to energy. Our new integration into The ENGIE Group has allowed us to scale even faster and wider across Nigeria allowing us to bring our clean, reliable, and affordable energy to millions of Nigerians over the next 5 years. With this growth comes the need to implement sustainable methods of recycling and disposing end-of-use batteries and this partnership with the Hinckley Group addresses the issue,” he further said.
He also said that “ENGIE Energy Access is the only energy player that can offer a fully integrated renewable energy solutions, that provides full end-to-end off grid energy solutions. This position is what drives our commitment to being an environmentally conscious and responsible solution to the communities that we serve.”
On recovery of non-renewable materials used in the making of batteries, Cardoso opines that the recycling process will reduce the box and battery cells to powder that is less dangerous and easier to handle and dispose of. A major component of that is to repurpose some of the batteries for reuse. This partnership, according to him, will make these materials available for use on other fronts thereby positively impacting on the economy.
He further said the partnership agreement will also help to reduce production costs and ensure that competitively priced products are available for purchase as recycling of waste batteries will lead to recovery and re-usage of some of the raw materials.
Furthermore, Victor Alabi, HSE supervisor of the company, said that the partnership would reduce the incidence of battery explosion and fire outbreak because of improper handling of waste batteries.
“All batteries need to be treated with caution, especially if they are damaged, exposed to heat or waste. Our goal with this partnership is to ensure that we not only properly recycle our waste, but also educate the consumer on proper ways and channels to handle this kind of waste,” Alabi noted.
He extolled the management of Hinckley Group for the excellent job they do around e-waste recycling services. The company became the first registered electronic waste recycler in Nigeria, providing end-of-life solutions which they deliver to a diverse client base to help them reduce business costs, improve safety and security thereby preventing environmental pollution and human harm caused by hazardous electric waste.
ENGIE Energy Access is one of the leading Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGo) and mini-grids solutions provider in Africa, with a mission to deliver affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy solutions and life-changing services with exceptional customer experience. The company is a result of the integration of Fenix International, ENGIE Mobisol and ENGIE PowerCorner; and develops innovative, off-grid solar solutions for homes, public services, and businesses, enabling customers and distribution partners access to clean, affordable energy. The PAYGo solar home systems are financed through affordable installments from $0.19 per day and the mini-grids foster economic development by enabling electrical productive use and triggering business opportunities for entrepreneurs in rural communities.
With over 1,700 employees, operations in nine countries across Africa (Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia), over 1 million customers and more than 5 million lives impacted so far, ENGIE Energy Access aims to remain the leading clean energy company, serving millions of customers across Africa by 2025.
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