Circular Economy Powered Renewable Energy Centre (CEPREC)-Kenya and Acele Africa Partner to Advance Circular Electric Vehicle Battery Innovation

When Joseph Macharia (Joe) joined Aceleron in 2018 as a project manager, his initial term was set for six months. He never imagined that what began as a six-month contract at a start-up helping to establish its operations in Nairobi, Kenya, would turn into a six-year engagement. It became a passion and a business he would later acquire and develop. When Aceleron filed for bankruptcy, Joe decided to act and acquire it. After pooling resources, he bought and rebranded it as Acele Africa. The company aims to speed up Africa’s energy transition by ‘producing affordable and user-friendly batteries for energy storage, offering sustainable solutions for Green Energy needs.’[1]

The Circular Economy Powered Renewable Energy Centre (CEPREC) team from Kenya, led by Dr William Murithi, the country lead and Co-PI, along with Sheila Chepkorir, the project assistant, Mr Andrew Adwera, a PhD candidate at the University of Nairobi (UON), investigating the viability of EV batteries for solar energy storage, and Brendah Kanana from Strathmore Africa Case Centre (SACC), visited Acele Africa and met with Joe and his team, including Eng Kelvin Ndegwa. As part of their effort to strengthen collaborations with Kenyan e-mobility industry innovators, they recently engaged in focused discussions with AceleAfrica, Africa’s leader in lithium battery repurposing and modular energy systems. Other members of the CEPREC team include Prof Izael Da Silva, the DVC for Research and Innovation and a renowned champion of renewable energy, and UNESCO Chair Dr Churchill Saoke, director of the Strathmore Energy Resource Centre, an expert in renewable energy, and Dr Peter Kimani, a lecturer in environmental and process engineering at the University of Nairobi, who are co-investors in the project. Also, Gladys Ombati, a PhD student investigating sustainable microgrids business models.

During the visit, the team was taken through the facility located on Mombasa Road. The tea discussed both the technical and strategic role that Acele Africa is playing in accelerating the energy transition of Kenya to renewable energy. During the meeting, it was clear that CEPREC and Acele Africa shared a common aim that was seeking opportunities to enable Africa to transition to renewable energy. On one hand, CEPREC aimed to ‘empower Africa’s energy transition’ through the ‘commitment to foster multisectoral, interdisciplinary collaboration among government, industry, and academia to drive cutting-edge knowledge, innovation, and skills for Africa’s energy transition’. On the other hand, Acele Africa is driving this transition by producing batteries designed on the principles of circularity. Therefore, both CEPREC and Acele Africa are driving the circular battery economy in Africa. The visit covered in-depth discussions on second-life battery validation, product development, and the implementation of industry-aligned standards for repurposed energy storage.

We learned that AceleAfrica has developed a novel value chain that includes battery design, disassembly, testing, and deployment. Its modular systems serve a range of markets from off-grid solar and backup power to light electric mobility and humanitarian energy access. To date Acele Africa has developed 3+ MWh, recycled over 15,000 batteries, 400.000+ cells and 21,000+ Kgs[2].

The session outlined several strategic areas for collaboration

• Structured data sharing from field-deployed battery systems, to support CEPREC’s applied research and policy modelling.
• Joint development of testing protocols and disassembly manuals tailored for local technicians and future regulatory use.
• Co-creation of funding proposals and case demonstrations targeting circular economy funders and technical partners.
• Development of standard procedures on EV batteries, which will be done through partnerships with institutions like the Kenya Bureau of Statistics, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, among others, industry players such as the Africa e-mobility Alliance, the e-mobility association of Kenya

CEPREC brings to the collaboration its multidisciplinary research capacity, access to Strathmore Energy Research Centre (SERC), and ongoing policy engagement through its Pan-African partner network, which includes De Montfort University (UK), Warwick University (UK), Chatham House (UK), University of Namibia, University of Sierra Leone, Tswane University of Technology, South Africa, University of Nigeria, University of Lagos, and the Kigali Collaborative Research Centre, among others.

Both CEPREC and Acele Africa will be working together to define a framework that connects technical development to field deployment, especially in the following areas:

• Student involved in the validation of prismatic and modular battery units.
• Shared assembly-line insights, with AceleAfrica planning an expanded line by November 2025.
• Standardisation of repurposed lithium cells, informed by real-time performance data and predictive modelling tools.
• Enhanced visibility via events like the Circularity Conference in Nigeria and the Nairobi 2026 platform.
• Development of a business case about Acele Africa’s model and operation across East Africa and beyond.

“Proper structure, standards, and data can power a reliable and equitable energy future using repurposed batteries,” Dr William Murithi, CEPREC – Country Lead.

This collaboration will support CEPREC’s strategic priority on applied innovation, capacity-building, and industry partnerships —anchored in the Triple Helix model—to bridge the gap between research, policy, and scalable impact. Further, Strathmore University’s collaboration with Acele Africa will be instrumental in enhancing research and innovation, developing protocols, creating a value chain for the EV battery recycling and repurposing industry to support the acceleration of the renewable energy transition. Strathmore Energy Resource Centre, led by Dr  Saoke, the Center’s director, is keen to support training and capacity building within the energy sector, particularly in the EV battery assembly, recycling, and repurposing. We are keen to engage with other partners in academia, industry, and government, as we seek to enable Africa’s transition to renewable energy.

Article written by Dr William Murithi and Sheila Chepkorir

[1] https://www.aceleafrica.com/

[2] https://www.aceleafrica.com/