Nigeria will need more EV chargers to keep pace with growing demand – Report – EnviroNews

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As electric vehicles (EVs) gain ground in Nigeria, the country will need to significantly expand its charging infrastructure to keep pace with growing demand, according to a new report by energy transition organisation, RMI.

The report, titled “Developing Nigeria’s Charging Infrastructure”, highlights the scale of investment needed to make electric mobility more accessible and reliable, while outlining policy, regulatory and financing measures that could help accelerate the rollout of charging and battery-swapping infrastructure.

Nigeria had an estimated 20,000 electric vehicles on its roads in 2025, with adoption growing across different vehicle segments. RMI says this growth will create a corresponding demand for infrastructure to charge vehicles and, particularly for two- and three-wheelers, swap batteries.

Under a business-as-usual scenario, the country could require about 24,000 charging and battery-swapping stations by 2060. If EV adoption grows at a more optimistic pace, that figure could rise dramatically to about 207,000 stations.

The report also points to a growing need for residential charging. Under the business-as-usual scenario, an additional 79,000 Level 2 residential chargers could be required by 2060. Under the more optimistic scenario, Nigeria could need as many as 1.6 million residential chargers.

That growth would also have implications for the electricity system. In the optimistic scenario, annual electricity demand from EV charging could reach about 1,200 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2040 and 43,100 GWh by 2060.

“The economics of EV adoption depend not only on the cost of the vehicle, but also on the cost of keeping it fueled,” said Suleiman Babamanu, Africa Energy Programme Director at RMI. “Affordable and reliable electric mobility will depend on how quickly and effectively charging infrastructure can keep pace with adoption.”

RMI argues that getting the infrastructure in place will require more than simply building chargers. The report examines policy and regulatory interventions, financing options and business models that could reduce the cost and risk of infrastructure deployment.

It also highlights the need to improve the reliability and accessibility of charging services while creating an environment that can attract private investment at scale.

With Nigeria’s EV market still in its early stages, the report suggests that decisions made now could play a key role in determining how quickly electric mobility can grow and whether the country’s power and transport systems are ready for that growth.