Can Battery Storage Fast-Track Africa's Industrial Future?

Africa needs more power. But it also needs power that is reliable, affordable - and available when industry needs it.Hosted by Energy News Network (ENN) in partnership with The Electricity Hub, Let's Talk Energy continues its series recorded live at the Africa Energy Forum 2026 in Cape Town with Stephen Ye, Global Investment Director at RelyEZ. Stephen argues that the economics of storage are changing the equation. With solar-plus-storage projects potentially deployed far faster than conventional power infrastructure, the conversation explores what BESS could mean for mines, manufacturing, data centres and other power-intensive industries - and whether storage can make the next generation of African energy projects more bankable. From grid resilience and project finance to localisation and battery manufacturing, the bigger opportunity may extend beyond deploying batteries: could Africa become part of the global battery value chain itself?