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Nigeria Partners MOPO to Address Electricity Deficit
MOPO, an Africa-focused battery rental company backed by Octopus Energy Group Ltd., has signed a $75 million agreement with Nigeria’s Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to expand battery rental operations nationwide by 2030.
The deal will begin with a pilot programme in 2026, before scaling across the country over the next five years, supporting Nigeria’s push for clean and affordable electricity access.
MOPO explained that its model allows households and businesses to rent rechargeable batteries instead of investing in costly solar home systems or mini-grids.
“We solve a lot of the problems that mini-grids and solar home systems struggle with. We rent batteries to customers for hours, not asking them to buy assets or investors to make huge bets,” said Luke Burras, MOPO’s COO.
The company said the partnership aligns with broader efforts to electrify underserved communities, complementing REA’s ongoing initiatives.
Earlier this year, REA announced plans to spend ₦100 billion in 2026 to deploy hybrid mini-grids for government agencies, as part of its ₦170 billion National Public Sector Solarisation programme.
REA also signed an MoU with ECOWAS to deploy solar systems to 15 public institutions under the Regional Off-Grid Electricity Access Project (ROGEAP), supported by the World Bank.
Nigeria remains one of the countries with the largest electricity access deficits, with millions lacking reliable power.
The World Bank and AfDB estimate that 560 million people in sub-Saharan Africa still live without electricity.
The MOPO-REA deal is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s energy transition, improve productivity, and reduce reliance on expensive and unreliable power sources, while creating a scalable model for clean energy access across Africa.
