Chairman of Swiber Africa (Nigeria) Group, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, and his GCL (China) Group counterpart, Zhu Gongshan, have signed a new energy industry framework cooperation deal in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), setting the stage for a wide-ranging partnership on power system development, strategic lithium resource exploitation and industrial chain integration.

Under the agreement, both parties are to pursue in-depth cooperation across energy system development, lithium resource development and broader industrial chain collaboration, a move positioned as part of the deepening practical synergy between China and Nigeria.

The deal also aligns with GCL Group’s broader internationalisation drive and its response to the Belt and Road Initiative, a statement said.

Nigeria continues to grapple with power shortages and a weak electricity grid, challenges that have constrained industrial growth and limited improvements in living standards.

Against the backdrop of the global energy transition and expanding China-Africa cooperation, GCL Group is bringing to bear more than two decades of experience in integrated oil, gas and green energy development across African markets, including Ethiopia and Djibouti.

Targeting Nigeria’s power deficit and resource development gaps, the Chinese energy firm plans to focus on building a new-generation power system alongside the development of a lithium battery industry chain.

The approach, according to the framework agreement, is intended to expand GCL’s strategic footprint along the Belt and Road Initiative framework while responding to Nigeria’s domestic energy and industrial priorities.

On power infrastructure, Gongshan said GCL was expected to combine high-efficiency clean power generation technologies with scenario-based system solutions.

Central to this is a full-time-scale virtual power plant system already deployed in the China–Singapore jointly developed Suzhou Industrial Park, which reportedly achieves a load regulation accuracy of up to 94 per cent.

“The system is designed to deliver intelligent energy management, offering capabilities ranging from millisecond-level rapid response to medium- and long-term precise forecasting,” he said.

The cooperation is structured to align directly with Nigeria’s Presidential Power Initiative (PPI). Planned projects include the development of three gigawatts of gas-fired power plants, four gigawatts of integrated wind and solar energy projects as well as hydropower and coal-fired power stations.

Grid upgrade projects are also expected to run in parallel, aimed at creating an efficient and coordinated Generation-Transmission–Distribution–Consumption energy network and supporting Nigeria’s transition from manual to intelligent grid control.

Beyond power generation and grid modernisation, lithium resource development forms a second core pillar of the agreement.

As global demand for lithium batteries accelerates, lithium has become a strategically critical resource, gaining increasing traction across the energy and manufacturing landscape.