Battery Pack Engineering for Solar-Storage and E-Mobility Startups
Assemble safe, warrantable lithium battery packs for solar backup and e-mobility — cell chemistry, BMS design and pack-assembly safety — the honest way, where quality control is the whole business.
by Sankofa Skills Studio · vetted expert author
What you'll gain
Nigeria’s power crisis and its e-mobility boom have made the lithium battery pack one of the most in-demand products in the country — and one of the most dangerous to build badly. Built from a source-graded 2026 research pass over the chemistry, the electronics, the assembly, the money and a dated failure museum, this course teaches the version that keeps customers safe and you solvent. First, the reframe: a cell is not a battery. A pack is matched cells plus interconnects plus a battery-management system plus fuses plus an enclosure, engineered together — and the BMS is the only thing enforcing each cell’s voltage and temperature limits, so there is no lithium pack without one. Second, the chemistry that decides everything: for Nigerian solar-storage and most e-mobility, LFP is the sensible default on safety (it runs away at ~270–300 °C vs ~150–210 for NMC), cycle life (2,000–6,000 vs 300–500 for lead-acid), and heat tolerance — safer than NMC, but not fireproof. Third, the trap that empties wallets: the cell market is flooded with fake, downgraded and reclaimed cells with impossible capacity claims — a “9900 mAh” 18650 cannot physically exist (the ceiling is ~3,500) — so you believe the test, not the label, and match every cell. You will choose chemistry and format; source and verify cells; size a pack with the series-and-parallel maths (series adds voltage, parallel adds capacity, Wh = V × Ah); select and wire a BMS — getting the balance-lead order right, because reversing it destroys the board; spot-weld and assemble to a safety standard; master thermal runaway and the workshop fire kit; test every pack before it ships; and price an honest model where you will not out-price Chinese imports on commodity packs — the margin is in bulk cells, custom and e-mobility packs, and repair, and lead-acid loses on cost-per-delivered-kWh (~₦417 vs ~₦63–79 for LFP). Two people build alongside you: Emeka, assembling LFP solar packs for installers in Enugu, and Amina, building e-mobility traction packs in Kano. Carry one line: the BMS, the cell-matching and the testing are not costs — they are the product. Capacity-building and orientation, not engineering, legal or financial advice; lithium is genuinely hazardous and every naira figure is a dated, dollar-linked snapshot, so get proper training and safety equipment and verify live.
Pass a real exam and earn a publicly verifiable certificate employers trust.
Unlimited practice mode + spaced-repetition flashcards, then unlimited exam retakes.
Keep the lessons and every future update to this course, forever.
What you'll cover
10 modules · 20 lessons · timed certification exam
1. Orientation: A Cell Is Not a Battery 2 lessons
Why a pack is an engineered system, not a box of cells; why there is no lithium pack without a BMS; the two design worlds of solar and e-mobility; and the two people you build alongside.
- A cell is not a battery · 22 min
- Meet Emeka and Amina, and the two design worlds · 20 min
2. Chemistry and the Cell: LFP by Default 2 lessons
The chemistry choice that decides safety, life and cost; the cell formats; and the seven specifications every datasheet uses.
- LFP by default: choosing the chemistry · 22 min
- Formats and the seven specs every datasheet uses · 20 min
3. Sourcing and the Grade Trap 2 lessons
The cell grades and the fraud that flood the market, how to verify a batch on receipt, and the dangerous-goods reality of importing lithium into Nigeria.
- The grade trap and how not to be defrauded · 22 min
- Sourcing and the dangerous-goods import · 22 min
4. Pack Architecture: Series, Parallel and Sizing 2 lessons
The series-and-parallel maths that turns cells into a target voltage and capacity, and how to size a pack from the load it must serve.
- Series, parallel and the energy equation · 20 min
- Sizing a pack from the load · 22 min
5. The BMS: The Electronic Guardian 2 lessons
What a battery-management system does, how to select one for your pack, and why an undersized or wrong BMS is a leading fire cause.
- The BMS: the electronic guardian · 20 min
- Selecting a BMS · 20 min
6. Interconnects and Assembly 2 lessons
How to join cells (nickel, busbars, spot-welding not soldering), the assembly workflow, the balance-lead order that beginners get wrong, fusing, insulation, and top-balancing.
- Interconnects: nickel, busbars, and why you spot-weld · 20 min
- The assembly workflow and the balance-lead order · 24 min
7. Safety: Thermal Runaway and the Workshop 2 lessons
What thermal runaway is and what triggers it, the hazard-and-control table for assembly, and the workshop fire kit — including the truth about water on lithium.
- Thermal runaway and the hazards · 22 min
- The workshop: fire kit, the water myth, quarantine · 20 min
8. Testing and QC: The Product 2 lessons
The test battery every pack passes before it ships, and the traceability that lets you honour a warranty and defend a field failure — because quality control is the profit-and-loss.
- The nine-test battery · 22 min
- Traceability: batch records and the label · 18 min
9. The Money and the Market 2 lessons
Capital and cost per kilowatt-hour, why this is not easy money, where the margin actually lives, the offtake channels, and an honest profit model where warranty risk is part of the economics.
- The money: capital, cost per kWh, and why it is not easy money · 22 min
- The market, the offtake and the profit model · 22 min
10. Regulation, Scams and Scaling 2 lessons
The agencies you answer to and the insurance hook that makes quality load-bearing, a dated scam-and-failure museum, the scaling ladder, and a 90-day launch.
- Regulation, the scam museum and the honest gaps · 22 min
- Scaling and your 90-day launch · 20 min
Frequently asked
Is the certificate verifiable?
Yes. Every certificate carries a unique ID and a cryptographic signature. Anyone — an employer or a client — can confirm it instantly on our public verification page, with no login.
Who teaches this course?
A vetted expert author — Sankofa Skills Studio. Every expert course is reviewed and fact-checked before publication, and the author earns a revenue share on your enrolment.
How long do I have access?
Lifetime. Once you enrol you keep access to the lessons, practice mode and flashcards — including future updates to this course.
What happens if I don't pass the exam first time?
You can retake it — up to 5 attempts, with a 12-hour wait between attempts. Practice mode is unlimited, so rehearse with the same verified question bank until you're ready.
Can my team enrol together?
Yes. Talk to us about group and organisation rates — certifying a whole team is faster and cheaper than one at a time.
Continue your path
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