The start of construction on a facility that will be home to Africa’s first dedicated gigawatt battery storage manufacturing plant was a landmark moment, said Alderman James Vos, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, at the sod-turning ceremony for Solar MD’s new industrial site in Richmond Park.
Solar MD specialises in lithium-ion battery storage designed for residential, commercial and utility-scale applications. With robust demand for their products, the company found that it needed a bigger site than its existing Montague Gardens workspace.
The new 12 500 square-metre light industrial site will include offices, manufacturing and storage facilities and will be four times the size of the current facility. Solar MD currently produces around 120 batteries each year with plans to increase manufacturing up to 300 batteries per year once the new facility is fully up and running. Its staff component will also increase to 240 from its existing 120 employees. The project, scheduled for completion in May 2024, is being managed by Atterbury Property.
‘This development marks an exciting moment for Cape Town. Not only does this investment fuel Cape Town’s drive towards a smarter, cleaner and more secure energy future, but it also makes this metro the base for the production of these batteries that are exported into Africa and Europe,’ said Alderman Vos.
Solar MD has invested over R150 million into its developments since opening in 2015 and plans to invest close to R1 billion over the next five years as they expand. The company’s growth has been supported by GreenCape, the City’s Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in the green economy, as well as the City and provincial government’s investment promotion partner, Wesgro.
‘This shows the tangible value of partnering with SPVs. In fact, by supporting companies such as Solar MD, GreenCape helped to facilitate R1,733 billion in investments in the last financial year for Cape Town which led to hundreds of jobs. In the next year, we are going to expand our investment campaigns of Cape Town as a green energy hub while extending skills development opportunities to more communities and small businesses,’ said Alderman Vos.
