Solar-powered battery rental startup gets investment boost

MOPO, a British start-up that rents out portable batteries and recharges the devices at solar-powered hubs, has received a strategic investment from energy giant Octopus as it looks to scale-up its activities in Africa.

The company began its operations in Sierra Leone in 2017. It has since expanded to other markets including Nigeria, DR Congo and Liberia, delivering some 25 million battery rentals on a pay-per-use basis. Octopus is the second major player to invest in MOPO this year, after BII, the UK’s development finance institution, invested $7m in January with the goal of accelerating the rollout of MOPO’s services in DR Congo.

In a statement, Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy Group, said that the investment would allow the two companies to “make a big leap forward” in bringing electricity to the 600m people in Africa who currently lack access.

Luke Burras, MOPO’s chief operating officer told African Business that the battery rental approach pioneered by the company can succeed in parts of Africa where mini-grids and solar home systems have struggled to be financially viable.

“The reason that grid electrification and mini-grid electrification isn’t working is because there’s a misalignment between customer usage patterns and operator capex costs,” he says. 

He notes that solar mini-grids are good at delivering electricity during the sunny daytime hours, but operators need to invest in expensive battery storage systems to meet demand peaks in the evening. The result is that customers “are not at all incentivised to be careful” around how and when they use power.

Burras adds that solar home systems also have major limitations across much of Africa, given that the typical customer cannot take on the debt needed to install such a system. Some companies have experimented with leasing solar systems, but Burras says that these companies often struggle to keep growing unless they take on “bad customers” who fail to pay their bills.

MOPO believes that leasing batteries could be a flexible solution that is tailored to the realities of the market in countries like Sierra Leone. 

“We knew that we needed to produce an energy solution that matched customers’ willingness and ability to pay,” adds Burras. 

Rethinking mini-grids

MOPO currently offers two models: a small 50Wh device that allows low-income customers to use power for tasks such as lighting and phone charging; and the 1kWh MOPOMax, which are intended to replace petrol generators.

“A typical user goes all the way from somebody who has very low access to electricity and might rent one MOPO battery once a month to charge their phone,” says Burras, “all the way to in Kinshasa, a MOPOMax customer who’s renting four or five giant MOPOMax batteries every day to run their printing business or their fridge ice-making business for fisheries.”

Customers pick-up the batteries from MOPO’s hubs, where a small array of rooftop solar panels charges and recharges the devices. A network of local agents are responsible for renting out the batteries and ensuring that customers return the devices on time.

Burras says that MOPO is working on several plans to expand its offerings. One project is aimed at customers in areas where some grid power is typically available, but only for a few hours a day. Customers would be able to keep MOPO batteries with a two-way inverter at home for long periods, or even indefinitely, and could charge their batteries when grid power is switched on.

MOPO also hopes to launch its own version of mini-grids. Centralised generating units, possibly at MOPO’s existing hubs, would deliver electricity to local homes, where customers would recharge their batteries when solar power is available. Customers would be paying for storage in their own homes, rather than at central locations. “We think that’s got real, real capability to scale,” says Burras.

MOPO currently employs around 1,200 people, mostly as agents, and no longer has expatriates working on the ground in Africa. But Burras says MOPO is likely to continue relying on Chinese partners for manufacturing. Its CEO Chris Longbottom has relocated to China to oversee the development of new product offerings.

The idea of manufacturing MOPO hardware in Africa remains a distant prospect, Burras acknowledges. “It’s not a focus for us,” he says, adding “a lot of development would need to take place,” before Africa could hope to match the capabilities of industrial agglomerations in China.

Octopus Energy launches energy fund with $250m ambition

Octopus Energy has launched its first African energy fund which will target renewable energy sectors. The Octopus Energy Power Africa Fund plans to invest in clean energy solutions including rooftop solar, battery storage, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and grid upgrades in order to “power communities and businesses with affordable, homegrown, green energy.”

The fund is launched with an initial $60m and has ambitions to mobilise $250m over the next three years. As part of the move, Octopus Energy Generation is working with African investment specialist Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers to create a “smart, practical model” that opens new doors for green investments in emerging markets. 

Zoisa North-Bond, CEO at Octopus Energy Generation, said: “Africa is abundant with clean energy potential – enough to build the next-generation renewable powerhouse and a greener, fairer future fuelled by sunshine and wind. By partnering with local experts, such as Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Managers, we aim to accelerate that future and create new green pathways.”