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Electric batteries: the United States accelerates the materialization of the major Congolese-Zambian project

The United States of America is committed to rapidly materializing the battery and electric vehicle industry project in order to boost the economies of African countries.

During a meeting held Friday, April 14 in Washington DC at the State Department, the Congolese Minister of Industry, Julien Paluku Kahongya, that of Finance Nicolas Kazadi and the American Under-Secretary of State in charge of the economy , Energy and Environment, José W. Fernandez, assessed the collaboration agreement signed in Washington last December between the Congolese, Zambian and American governments on the development of a regional value chain around the battery and vehicle industry batteries, and this, with the launch of the pre-feasibility study for the installation of the first manufacturing plant for precursors of electric batteries in Lubumbashi in the province of Haut-Katanga.

At the end of this strategic meeting, the Biden administration reiterated its commitment to truly support the materialization of this major project which will change the economies of African countries.

The Minister of Industry, Julien Paluku, recalled that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the best destination in the world for the battery and electric vehicle industry thanks to its strategic minerals.

He also welcomed the firm commitment of the United States of America. “(…) the issue of electric batteries dominates the news around the world and the United States wants to be among the main players since they signed with us the agreement with Zambia in December 2022.

We came to take stock of the situation, to see what the developments are following the February 2023 meeting in Cape Town.

Among the major developments is the establishment of the Congolese Battery Council with facilitators so that we also know what path we must take.

We were honored during the meeting with the American Under-Secretary of State by the presence of Réta Jo Elwis, the president of the American Exim Bank, an American import-export bank which is one of the important financiers that we asked to support the project”, explained Julien Paluku.

This meeting comes after that of Cape Town in South Africa on the sidelines of the INDABA MINING forum where the Congolese Ministers of Industry, Finance and the American Under-Secretary of State in charge of the economy, energy and environment were discussed at length on the same file.

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