- The region’s fantastic renewable potential combined with Europe’s prodigious production and import targets will not just alter energy flows. They will create them anew.
- The main obstacle in building these large-scale projects and related infrastructure would be investments.
According to Rystad Energy, Africa could be a key supplier of green hydrogen to Europe, which is looking to diversify its energy mix after reducing Russian natural gas supplies. More than 52 green hydrogen projects have been announced in Africa, with production set to reach 7.2 million tonnes by the end of 2035, the Norway-based consultancy said in a report on Wednesday. Most of the planned projects will produce ammonia as an end-product for European export.
Rajeev Pandey, the clean tech analyst at Rystad Energy, said, “The global green hydrogen economy is taking shape, with Africa and Europe becoming a dynamo of production and use. Africa’s unparalleled mineral reserves are critical for electrolyser production. The region’s fantastic renewable potential combined with Europe’s prodigious production and import targets will not just alter energy flows, they will create them anew.”
Hydrogen is set to play a key role in the transition to a net-zero energy system and help decarbonise difficult sectors, such as heavy industry and long-haul transport. Globally, the size of the hydrogen industry is expected to hit $183 billion this year, up from $129 billion in 2017, according to Fitch Solutions.
According to Rystad, Africa’s overall electrolyser pipeline currently stands at 114 gigawatts, out of which more than half is linked to countries located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa holds a “highly strategic” position as South Africa sits on about 90 per cent of the world’s global platinum group metals reserves, which are critical for producing electrolysers to extract green hydrogen. The main obstacle in building these large-scale projects and related infrastructure would be investments.