South African Battery Manufacturers Secure 15% Import Tariff Win
Newly formed industry body SABMA secures 15% import duty and designation pledges, as local manufacturers push back against ‘misconceptions’ over cost and capacity
Larry Claasen
SOUTH African battery manufacturers are making progress in getting the government to respond to their concerns that they are not part of the country’s renewable energy programmes.
This follows the formation of the South African Battery Manufacturers Association (SABMA) in October 2025 by several local manufacturers – Balancell, BlueNova Energy, Creslow Energy Solutions, Freedom Won, maxwell+spark and Solar MD – as a lobbying vehicle to promote the sector’s interests
Industry unites to form SABMA amid policy neglect
South Africa has strong renewable energy policies but local batteries have historically never been seen as adequate and treated as an add-on rather than a core local technology, said SABMA chairperson Dr. Louis Serfontein.
This type of policy neglect has had far-reaching implications. “This has resulted in imported turnkey systems dominating utility-scale procurement, despite South Africa having manufacturers that meet International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Underwriters Laboratories (UL) and United Nations (UN) standards and have the capacity,” said Serfontein.
One area where the government can help is in providing tariff protection for the industry.
For example, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are not designated under local content rules, even though PV modules, trackers and inverters already are.
Serfontein said until this happens, battery manufacturers would remain under-represented in national programmes, despite being essential to grid stability, municipal resilience and renewable energy uptake.
Government responds with tariff protection and designation pledges
This was why SABMA called on the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC) to review the tariffs on imported battery cells, which the country does not currently produce, and those that are made here.
Serfontein said it met with state entities like ITAC, Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), the Local Content Compliance Unit (LCCU), and Invest SA to address its concerns, and the meeting was fruitful.
“The government has responded positively and has already taken several steps aligned with SABMA’s requests.”
This has seen ITAC recommend a 15% ad valorem customs duty on fully assembled lithium-ion batteries imported into South Africa, in the Government Gazette published on 26 March 2026.
Aside from tariff support, the dtic has also confirmed that renewable energy components are next in line for designation, and SABMA is actively working with the government on standards, localisation and industrialisation pathways.
“In short, government engagement has been constructive, and SABMA is now a recognised stakeholder in shaping national energy storage policy,” said Serfontein.
Building partnerships
Besides working with state institutions to address its concerns, SABMA is also working with other associations in the renewable energy sector, like the South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) and wind and solar industry bodies and grid-integration working groups to advance their collective agenda.
Serfontein said SABMA was open to having members that were not manufacturers, but also to suppliers, researchers and industry stakeholders. This was because it was intentionally structured as an ecosystem organisation – not a closed club.
SABMA tackles ‘misconceptions’ over cost, capacity and capability
Serfontein also noted that there were several misconceptions regarding battery storage, the biggest being that South Africa must import battery storage because local manufacturers cannot meet utility-scale requirements.
“This is simply not true. South African manufacturers already comply with IEC 62619, IEC 62933, UL 9540 and UN 38.3, and have systems operating well beyond 10-year warranty period.”
Another misconception was that imported systems are cheaper. With new tariffs on fully assembled batteries and upcoming local content rules, imported turnkey BESS will become significantly more expensive — while locally manufactured systems offer faster support, Rand based pricing, shorter lead times and long-term serviceability, he said.
Serfontein pointed out that many assume battery storage is only about backup power, but in reality, modern BESS provides frequency regulation, peak shaving, grid support, wheeling optimisation and renewable firming, which are all essential for South Africa’s evolving electricity market.
He also stressed that in some aspects of battery storage the country has shown itself to be a world leader.
“South Africa has been on the forefront of BESS technology and even higher voltage applications given its very early work in the EV space. The South African manufacturers are actually the only manufacturers that have batteries in the field that have been operating for more than 10 years.”
