Green Hydrogen: Shaping the Sustainable Future.
On the first day of African Energy Week 2023 (#AEW2023), a panel discussion explored the green hydrogen landscape in Africa and Europe, forging a collaboration between the two continents.
#AEW2023 takes place this week in Cape Town with the mandate to eradicate energy poverty in the world by 2030.
African Energy Week 2023
As Africa and Europe jointly lead the global green hydrogen economy, energy dynamics are undergoing a significant transformation. Africa's abundant renewable energy potential, combined with Europe's ambitious production and import targets, is creating new energy pathways and redefining existing standards.
In this context, African Energy Week 2023 (African Energy Week 2023 – #AEW2023), the main energy event of the African Energy Chamber (AEC), featured a Hydrogen Summit dedicated to the theme 'Powering the Future: Africa and Europe Unleash the Green Hydrogen Revolution'.
The session, moderated by Ashutosh Singh, Director of Financial Services at S&P Global Commodity Insights, explored the broad implications of this transformative change.
The discussion began with an intervention by Kgosientsho Ramakgopa, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity in South Africa, highlighting the importance of green hydrogen in the South African energy strategy.
“By 2040, Africa will be able to produce 50 times more energy from renewable energy than the world’s estimated demand,” he said.
Speaking about South Africa's ambitions, he added:
“We are aiming for $1 per kilogram by 2050, equivalent to indigenous low-cost energy, making South Africa one of the most competitive industrial economies.”
The government has recognized green hydrogen as a key element of its just energy transition. It implemented regulatory changes and introduced the Hydrogen Society Program that serves as a comprehensive sector framework to facilitate large-scale investments.
“The intention of this type of strategy is to ensure that we are able to develop the type of standard needed for green hydrogen in the future”, said Ramakgopa.
Green Hydrogen in West Africa
Meanwhile, in West Africa, Mauritania leads large-scale projects, including the massive Aman project, the Nour Electrolyzer and the Masdar-Infinity-Conjuncta green hydrogen project.
“We have great potential in renewable energy and green hydrogen is available.”
“We are working on the legal framework, which will help attract investments for these resources”.
“We want to put investors in a position that makes them comfortable investing.”
Explained Nani Chrougha, Minister of Petroleum, Mines and Energy of Mauritania.
With the demand for green hydrogen, Africa can benefit from cutting-edge research and technological advances in hydrogen production, enabling the continent to harness its potential more effectively and contribute to its energy transition and economic growth.
While there is a need for Africa to adopt green hydrogen technologies and learn from the necessary experiences of European nations, Minister Ramakgopa stated:
“We are not just recipients of technologies; we also have the capacity to develop it.”
The panel discussed the need for infrastructure to support the green hydrogen supply chain in Africa, highlighting some challenges and opportunities in its development.
Minister Chrougha stated:
“We need to access finance to access our important resources, and this will be an investment in infrastructure and in the mining sector, and we need to develop capacity in the mining sector, and these are two challenges.”
The green hydrogen “Task Force”
The development of a qualified workforce is essential to advance the production and use of green hydrogen.
“For African countries, it is vital to build local capacity.”
“This is a technology we haven’t been working with for a long time.”
“That’s why it’s extremely important that governments and institutions start working on building capacity across the entire value chain.”
Said Solomon Nwabueze Agbo, Scientist and Project Coordinator at Research Center Jülich GmbH.
Finally, to boost investment in green hydrogen, Africa can draw inspiration from Europe's success stories. By implementing supportive policies and fostering international collaboration, the continent can attract the investments needed for a thriving green hydrogen industry.
“To reach 2 dollars per kilo, we need to bring everyone to the table, including buyers and financiers.”
Said Chinnan Maclean Dikwal, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of African Energy Chamber.
He added that for nations that do not have the resources to develop green hydrogen, strategic collaboration will be necessary. Partnerships will likely play a significant role.
Conclusion
The collaboration between Africa and Europe in the green hydrogen sector, highlighted at African Energy Week 2023, represents a transformative opportunity for the African continent. South Africa's ambitions and large-scale projects in West Africa show the potential of this resource.
However, challenges such as infrastructure, among others, need to be overcome, with an emphasis on international collaboration. Green hydrogen has the potential to boost Africa's energy transition and play a vital role in combating energy poverty.
What do you think of this energy transition to Green Hydrogen? We want to know your opinion, do not hesitate to comment and if you liked the article, share and give a “like/like”.
See also:
Hydrogen, the future of energy in Africa
Morocco produces green hydrogen
Picture: © 2023 DR
