6 African countries set up green hydrogen alliance
Africa could become something of a superpower over the coming century, and a new consortium of six nations has come together to set up a green hydrogen alliance in a bid to supercharge the continent's hydrogen sector.
Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Egypt, Morocco and Mauritania partnered to foster development in their hydrogen economy, which they claim could offer a number of quality of life benefits, including economic development.
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The scheme could enhance access to affordable and clean energy, create jobs, provide public health benefits such as cleaner air, promote new green industries and wealth creation, and open new exporting and trade opportunities.
The project will include the financing and building of new infrastructure both to generate and use the resulting hydrogen, which could see use in various industrial sectors, including, transport, aerospace, energy and agriculture. Green hydrogen has become famous for its versatility within industry.
In particular, it is useful for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy industries like construction, green steel, shipping and trucking and others such as chemicals and fertilisers.
“Green hydrogen is key to Africa’s shift to green energy. It must provide energy for Africa’s growing population and industrial needs. It will also offer a major export opportunity for the continent," Green Hydrogen Organisation CEO Jonas Moberg said.
He added that the "capacity to govern this key part of the energy transition" is needed, with the need to learn from each other alongside coordination between governments, industry and civil society being vital for success.
"This is why we are delighted to provide a secretariat to the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance," he concluded.
The six have invited other members of the African Union to join the project, in a bid to bolster the economies of all member states as the upfront costs associated with renewable energy continue to drop.
The alliance was revealed at a conference in Barcelona on May 18 and has seen support from a number of institutions, including the UN, the Green Hydrogen Organisation and the African Development Bank.
However, as African nations have significantly less startup capital than developed nations, the projects will require multilateral agreements between governments and the private sector to step up infrastructure development.
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Transparency and accountability will also be central to the project if it is to exceed. Gaining knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the project and a clear pathway to dealing with them will be essential to its success.
Africa has already seen a number of projects devoted purely to green hydrogen, which is often seen as a "wonderfuel" for development - mainly concentrated in places like South Africa.
Miner Anglo American has partnered with Engie to develop a green hydrogen valley to power platinum mining in the region, and the nation's government itself has plans to deploy 10 gigawatts worth of electrolysers by 2030. This could create tens of thousands of jobs by 2040.
In addition, Namibia is set to invest $9.4 billion into a green hydrogen project that is expected to bring in 15,000 new jobs. However, as with all projects, it is unlikely that construction-phase jobs will be permanent, requiring the greenlighting of more projects to secure more stable employment.
Other green hydrogen projects are also planned in Egypt, Mauritania and Morocco.
Africa is considered something of an untapped goldmine for renewables, partially due to its varied biomes, but also due to a relative lack of development.
A report released last year suggests that Africa is currently only at "around 1%" of its onshore wind energy potential and that its maximum capacity could "cover the energy needs for the continent 250 times over."
This is in part due to its massive size allowing for development and areas with high wind speeds, although its varied geography makes development in some areas unviable.
Wind energy is a vital part of electrolysis - the process that creates green hydrogen. While solar energy can, and likely will, be used, wind energy is also a common form of generation.
“With its huge renewable energy resource wealth and land space, Africa has a chance to become a frontrunner in this burgeoning green hydrogen industry, creating zero-emission jobs, domestic energy supplies and export revenues fit for a decarbonised future. But to get there, we need radical collaboration across the governments, the private sector and civil society to set the right policy and investment frameworks, and we need to secure long-term offtake agreements," according to UN Climate Change High-Level Champions Nigel Topping and Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin.
"The Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance will go a long way in fostering these developments," they added.
Africa is slowly cementing its presence on the global stage. Decades of exploitation by unscrupulous businesses in the wake of the fallout from colonialism have left their mark, but the continent stands ready to gain full financial independence through such investments in burgeoning technologies.
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The continent is also huge for other sectors, such as mining and agriculture. These have seen their own humanitarian issues that countries - particularly in the sub-Sahan regions, which often rank amongst the poorest in the world - are actively looking to address.
The nation has also been hit hard by what South African President Cyril Ramaphosa once called "vaccine apartheid" with only around 21% of the continent's population having received just one dose of the vaccine, meaning the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly. Overcoming the pandemic will also be key for developments in the future.
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