Balancell energy tops Africa’s fastest growing companies list for manufacturing

The Financial Times, in partnership with Statista, has released its list of Africa’s 125 Fastest Growing Companies for 2024.

Leading the manufacturing category is Balancell, an innovative South African business that designs, engineers, and manufactures smart lithium-ion batteries for various applications. Balancell also ranked 17th overall, highlighting its rapid growth and potential to bring its groundbreaking battery technology to a global audience.

Best of the best

Earning a place in the ranking of Africa’s 125 Fastest Growing Companies is a significant achievement.

Companies from all over the African continent were eligible to participate. Thousands of businesses were identified by Statista as potential candidates and invited to apply. The applicants underwent a rigorous and complex evaluation process, including careful vetting of all submitted data.

“Achieving this accolade proves to us that South Africa has a place in the growing energy storage space in Africa and indeed globally,” says Paul Osborne, CFO of Balancell.

“It reinforces our belief that the technology we have developed is world-class and can be scaled to serve a much larger market. It also serves as recognition for the blood, sweat, and tears invested in the business over more than 13 years and validates our belief in its potential. Africa is not for the faint-hearted, and neither is building a manufacturing business from the ground up. If you can build a successful manufacturing business in Africa, I believe you can make a success of it anywhere in the world – and that’s exactly what we intend to do.”

Batteries of the future

In South Africa, discussions about batteries and energy storage often revolve around loadshedding, but Balancell is operating on a much larger scale. Their advanced “smart” lithium batteries are designed for industrial use, powering warehouse forklifts, refrigerated trucks, boats, factories, and more.

Balancell batteries are “smart” because they manage and protect themselves, monitor their own performance, and send diagnostic reports in real time.

This capability makes it easier than ever to keep track of a machine or vehicle’s battery life and prevent unscheduled downtime. These batteries are also more robust, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly compared to many alternatives and require no maintenance. Due to their lower cost, high power output, and reliability, Balancell batteries are already powering some of the world’s largest automotive brands and logistics companies. Additionally, their modular system allows for quick production of custom designs for different industries.

“We produce a unique battery that incorporates multiple levels of safety, from mechanical design to analogue electronic cut-outs, digital battery control, and software alerts,” says Ian de Vries, CEO at Balancell.

“We provide completely transparent and auditable energy in and out warranties, which include logging every minute of the battery’s life. And we’re leading the way in developing a battery passport for our customers’ future requirements.”

A win for South Africa

When South African businesses succeed on the global stage, the entire country benefits. Balancell, which conducts all its product development and manufacturing locally, is committed to job creation. “Balancell currently provides 60 full-time direct jobs while generating more than 1,000 downstream employment opportunities,” says Osborne. With its rapid expansion, these numbers are expected to grow. According to World Economic Forum research, the energy, technology, and care sectors have the greatest potential for job creation in developing countries, and Balancell aims to play its part in unlocking these opportunities for South Africa.

Balancell has already begun shipping large-scale batteries across the continent and is in the process of entering the European market.

Osborne hopes to see further benefits for the country.

“Balancell has built a world-class battery and energy platform that is very cost-competitive,” he says.

“The business has made significant inroads into the industrial motive market, and we believe we have now built a high-voltage solution that will help South Africa address the current energy crisis by providing an effective energy storage solution that can offer a base load to the grid. The IP and engineering capability of this solution is local, ensuring that South Africa is not dependent on foreign suppliers for energy solutions.”

Enquiries: www.balancell.com