Bold claim: Rentable batteries could be the bridge that finally brings electricity to the world’s underserved communities. And this is where the conversation gets real: while long-term grid expansion remains essential, battery rental offers a practical, mid-term solution that can keep homes lights-on and small businesses running today. Here’s a clear, beginner-friendly walkthrough of how this idea works, where it’s taking root, and what it means for the future.
Across the globe, millions still live without reliable electricity. The gap isn’t just about access; it’s about the slow pace of funding and building the transmission lines and grid capacity needed to deliver power everywhere. In response, some nations are piloting battery rental programs as a stopgap measure. The concept is simple: people who don’t have steady power can borrow or rent rechargeable batteries to run essential devices—lights, phones, radios, and basic appliances—while larger scale infrastructure catches up.
Current landscape shows a stubborn but narrowing gap. In 2024, about 730 million people still lacked electricity, down only modestly from the year before. This uneven progress reflects regional differences: many parts of sub-Saharan Africa face rapid population growth that outpaces electrification, compounded by debt and reductions in aid that slow development. By contrast, developing Asia reached a high watermark with 98 percent access, with nations like India and Indonesia approaching universal coverage. The remaining pockets of need are concentrated in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Myanmar, and North Korea.
Latin America is close to universal access overall, but remote zones—such as the Andean highlands and the Amazon basin—still lack reliable infrastructure. Honduras and Haiti also show persistent gaps. Sub-Saharan Africa, however, remains the region where eight out of ten people without electricity live, according to the IEA. There has been progress in countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, and Mozambique, but 27 regional countries still lag behind the pre-pandemic pace of expansion. Encouragingly, investment in solar projects—driven in part by Chinese backing—is expected to accelerate clean electricity deployment in the coming years.
The broader trend is hopeful: expanded clean-energy investments and improved transmission networks hint at broader access down the line. But the timeline for full grid connectivity will span years, if not decades. In the interim, governments and private firms are exploring alternative connectivity approaches to prevent long outages and support livelihoods.
A notable example is BP’s South African initiative called BPowered, launched in 2025. It offers daily rental batteries ranging roughly from 300 to 1,000 watt-hours, capable of powering lighting, TVs, laptops, and certain appliances for several hours. The program emphasizes convenience—batteries can be charged at solar-equipped outlets and returned at the end of each day, allowing users to recharge for the next day. Distribution centers are situated at or near solar-enabled sites like petrol stations, making access and return straightforward. The aim is to empower small businesses—think convenience stores and hair salons—to operate more reliably. A current estimate places roughly 200 million people in sub-Saharan Africa relying on solar power for electricity, highlighting the potential footprint for battery rental schemes. There are plans to expand this model to Nigeria.
A similar but earlier effort came from MOPO, a UK-based company that rolled out around 125,000 rental batteries across Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Chad, and Uganda about ten years ago. MOPO installed solar battery-charging stations in communities where traditional petrol stations and formal grid infrastructure were sparse. While these batteries provide steady power for basic needs, they aren’t large enough to run major appliances continuously. In 2025, MOPO received a $5 million investment from the development finance institution Norfund to broaden its battery rental initiatives.
MOPO’s leadership has framed the model as a major transformation in energy access. The company offers two main products: the MOPO50, geared toward lighting, phone charging, and small DC-powered devices, and the MOPO Max, a stronger option designed to supplant diesel generators or enable battery swaps for electric-motorcycle taxis. Notably, MOPO hit milestones—reaching twenty million battery rentals by late 2024—and continues to scale.
The appeal of battery rental in Africa is practical: it reduces dependence on diesel generators, which, although inexpensive to buy, impose high operating costs and heavy carbon emissions. For many households and small businesses, buying a battery outright is simply unaffordable. A rental model lowers the barrier to entry, enabling more people to access reliable power and supporting income-generating activities that depend on electricity.
Looking ahead, the global push to universal electricity will require a broad mix of energy sources and robust transmission networks, built out over many years. Battery rental programs can play a crucial interim role by delivering essential power to underserved communities, helping households and micro-enterprises improve living standards and resilience while longer-term grid expansion proceeds.
In short, rental batteries aren’t a silver bullet, but they are an effective, scalable bridge to a more electrified world. They stack up as a practical solution to a relentless problem: how to power today while building the grid of tomorrow.
What do you think? Should policy makers accelerate battery rental programs as a standard component of energy access strategies, or would that risk delaying investment in traditional grid expansion? Share your views in the comments—and tell us which aspect of battery rental you find most compelling or controversial.
