Embassy of Sierra Leone in China and LSES Ecosystem Innovation Consortium Visit IBI to Explore Energy and Industrial Digitalization Cooperation

On July 5, H.E. Mr. Abu Bakarr Karim, Ambassador of the Republic of Sierra Leone to China, and a delegation led by Cao Meili, Executive President of China Large-Scale Energy Storage Ecosystem Innovation Consortium Group Co., Ltd. and Vice Chair of the LSES Ecosystem Innovation Consortium, visited IBI. The delegation was received by Pan Yong, Director, Senior Vice President and Secretary of the Board of Directors of IBI, and Wang Fei, Vice President of Toodudu and Head of its Titanium Materials Industrial Chain. The three parties held in-depth discussions on energy storage technology cooperation, cross-border supply chain services and industrial digitalization.

Located in West Africa, Sierra Leone is rich in mineral resources, with considerable reserves of diamonds, rutile and iron ore. Its agricultural sector is primarily based on rice, cocoa, coffee and other commercial crops, offering substantial development potential. However, inadequate power supply has long been a major bottleneck constraining mining operations, agricultural processing and improvements in people’s livelihoods. In recent years, the Government of Sierra Leone has made energy transition a national priority and has actively sought international cooperation in new energy infrastructure, the extension of mining value chains and agricultural modernization. The country has particularly urgent demand for advanced technologies and management expertise in areas such as energy storage power stations and distributed photovoltaic systems.

The LSES Ecosystem Innovation Consortium has facilitated the implementation of several independent energy storage power station projects and achieved breakthroughs in key technologies including green lithium extraction, battery recycling and digital safety diagnostics. It has also actively expanded into application scenarios such as zero-carbon industrial parks and smart microgrids, developing integrated green energy solutions.

During the meeting, H.E. Mr. Abu Bakarr Karim stated that Sierra Leone is at a critical stage of its energy transition and that the development of energy storage infrastructure is one of the country’s most urgent needs. He noted that IBI has extensive experience in industrial Internet services and cross-border supply chains, and that its digital platforms could effectively reduce the cost of procuring energy storage equipment and related materials for Sierra Leonean enterprises while improving supply chain efficiency. The two sides could initially pursue cooperation in the cross-border trade of Sierra Leone’s competitive resources, including minerals and agricultural products, as well as the introduction of new energy equipment. He expressed the hope that IBI’s platform capabilities would inject new momentum into Sierra Leone’s economic development.

Cao Meili noted that the Consortium has accumulated extensive experience in energy storage technology research and development, project implementation and industrial coordination. However, the energy storage value chain involves numerous processes, including raw material procurement, production capacity allocation and logistics, creating an urgent need for digital tools to improve overall operational efficiency. IBI’s industrial digitalization capabilities are naturally complementary to the Consortium’s industrial resources. The two sides could jointly develop a digital collaborative service platform covering the entire energy storage value chain, enabling seamless integration between technical solutions and supply chain services.

Pan Yong introduced IBI’s strategic framework centered on “platforms, technology and data.” He explained that IBI has established three clearly defined growth curves. Its third growth curve—supporting the cross-border expansion of industrial clusters—is currently focused on Central Asia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with West Africa identified as an important region for future development. Sierra Leone’s geographical advantages and resource endowments are highly aligned with IBI’s cross-border strategy. Meanwhile, IBI’s second growth curve—industrial digitalization—has already been implemented across multiple vertical industries and can provide the energy storage value chain with comprehensive digital services ranging from aggregated raw material procurement to digital factories and intelligent logistics. He noted that there is broad potential for cooperation with the Consortium and that the meeting had opened a new window for IBI to deepen collaboration with West African countries and the energy storage industry.

Wang Fei further outlined Toodudu’s extensive experience in the titanium materials value chain. He stated that, as one of IBI’s core vertical platforms, Toodudu has for many years remained deeply engaged throughout the upstream and downstream segments of the titanium industry, accumulating substantial industrial resources and digital service experience in titanium ore, titanium dioxide, titanium sponge and titanium materials processing. In view of Sierra Leone’s rich mineral resources, including ilmenite and rutile, the Toodudu platform could help local enterprises connect with China’s advanced titanium materials processing capacity and extensive market, supporting Sierra Leone in transforming its resource advantages into industrial strengths. Through Toodudu’s aggregated procurement and collaborative service capabilities, the platform could also help Sierra Leonean enterprises reduce procurement costs and improve supply chain efficiency. Wang Fei expressed his expectation that Toodudu, Sierra Leone and the LSES Ecosystem Innovation Consortium would jointly explore a full-value-chain cooperation model extending from titanium resource development to energy storage material applications.

The meeting produced fruitful outcomes, with all parties reaching broad consensus on the direction of future cooperation. The three parties agreed to use the meeting as a starting point to accelerate research on specific projects and the development of implementation plans, jointly injecting new vitality into China–Africa energy cooperation and the digital development of China’s energy storage industry.

Derek Yang, Commercial Counsellor, and Alpha Mohamed Gottor, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone in China; Gong Jianbin, Project Lead, and Wang Mo, Secretary of China Large-Scale Energy Storage Ecosystem Innovation Consortium Group Co., Ltd.; Zheng Bowen, Senior Manager of the President’s Office of IBI; and Zhang Jianing, Assistant President of Toodudu, also attended the meeting.