Green hydrogen investment to unlock €1trn in Africa’s vast potentials – report
By Ben Eguzozie
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4 hubs exist in Mauritania, Morocco, Southern Africa, Egypt
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At €2/kg, green hydrogen economically viable
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Okereke, environment professor wants translation of Nigeria’s ETP
Harnessing Africa’s solar energy to produce 50 million tonnes of green hydrogen a year could yield the continent as much as one trillion euros by 2035, a new study by the European Investment Bank (EIB) has indicated.
With extraordinary green hydrogen potential, the investment can help secure global energy supply, create jobs, decarbonize heavy industry, enhance global competitiveness and transform access to clean water and sustainable energy, the study commissioned by EIB, the International Solar Alliance and the African Union (AU), with the support of the government of Mauritania, HyDeal and UCLG Africa, stated.
At €2 per kg, green hydrogen is economically viable, and can accelerate low-carbon economic growth across Africa, reducing emissions by as much as 40 percent, replacing 500 million tonnes of CO2 a year, the study said.
This €1-trillion green hydrogen investment can deliver the equivalent of more than one third of Africa’s current energy consumption, boost GDP, improve clean water supply and empower communities, the study showed.
According to the study, large-scale green hydrogen generation will enable Africa to supply 25 million tonnes of green hydrogen to global energy markets, equivalent to 15 percent of current gas used in the European Union.
Given the above drive, Africa can secure access to clean and sustainable energy on the continent, and become a global energy player through green hydrogen exports.
At present, there are benefits of harnessing solar power to create green hydrogen in four African hubs: Mauritania, Morocco, southern Africa and Egypt.
The report titled “Africa’s Extraordinary Green Hydrogen Potential” represents the first detailed research of the feasible development of green hydrogen across the continent. It combined analysis of investment opportunities focusing on four hubs: Mauritania, Morocco, southern Africa and Egypt with a roadmap of technical, economic, environmental and financial solutions to unlock commercial development.
Abdessalam Ould Mohamed Salah, Mauritania’s minister of energy, said, “Africa has the best solar energy in the world; and transforming solar power into green hydrogen can strengthen energy security, cut emissions and pollution and decarbonise industry and transport.
He said EIB is working with partners across Africa and around the world to harness the continent’s renewable energy potential to produce low-cost green hydrogen at scale. The Africa’s Extraordinary Green Hydrogen Potential report shows concrete opportunities to transform access to green energy and clean water across the continent and beyond.
Ambroise Fayolle, vice president of EIB, said with the best renewable energy in the world in Africa, scaling up production of green hydrogen can transform access to low-cost electricity and clean water.
“Unlocking Africa’s green hydrogen potential will require close cooperation between public, private and financial partners. The new “Africa’s Extraordinary Green Hydrogen Potential” study outlines what can be achieved and what needs to be done. The European Investment Bank is pleased to work with African and international partners to enable large-scale green hydrogen to become a reality,” Fayolle said.
He noted that solar photovoltaic technology has provided the cheapest electricity.
For Ajay Mathur, director general of International Solar Alliance, “It will cost below €2 per kg in several African countries by 2030, much lower than the current mass assumption of €5; and a stark contrast to the $60-70 paid for an oil barrel. Thanks to this low-cost electricity and decreasing electrolyser costs, the next step is providing access to a clean fuel, cheaper than all the current fossil fuels. It will enable us to decarbonise the power sector and most hard-to-abate sectors – fertilisers, steel manufacturing, and refineries.”
Thierry Lepercq, president of HyDeal, said as the global energy and climate crises unfold, mass-scale competitive green hydrogen is ready to provide energy security, affordability and decarbonization. “Integrated hydrogen hubs bringing together upstream, midstream and upstream players on the basis of long-term off-take contracts are building powerful business models.
“Mauritania is already pioneering and showing the way, proving that Africa can help the world with green hydrogen – ensuring for itself a future of industrial development, fast and clean growth for all,” Lepercq said.
Nigeria should quickly take a cue, in line with its newly signed Climate Change Law via its Energy Transition Plan (ETP), according to Chukwumerije Okereke, a professor of environment and development, and a climate adaptation expert.
Speaking in a recent zoom interview from his base at the University of Reading, UK, Okereke, who drafted the Nigerian Climate Change Bill, indicated that Nigeria requires the translation of its ETP great plans into specific projects just like Mauritania, Morocco, South Africa and Egypt.
“Nigeria, with its Climate Change Law… has the ability to harness energy from the sun. Nigeria needs to begin to invest its money in green infrastructure projects. You may be shocked to know that, of the 12 GW to 15 GW of installed capacity that we have in Nigeria, only about 4 or 5 GW is performing. But nearly 25 GW of electricity (in Nigeria) still come from generating sets – more than double the installed capacity. This is not a good thing for Nigeria,” Okereke said in the zoom interview that our correspondent participated in.
The new study outlines how production and transmission of green hydrogen can lead to a €1 trillion investment yielding 7 exajoules of energy (versus a consumption in Africa of 19.9 exajoules in 2021) and a correlative massive increase in GDP, creating hundreds of thousands of permanent and skilled jobs across Africa.
Large scale green hydrogen investment will transform supply of clean water in areas regularly impacted by drought and chronic water shortages and will help empower communities, according to the study.