2023-09-14 10:00:23
The President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa (centre) next to the Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen (right) and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte (left) during the Business Forum on green hydrogen and the energy transition in Pretoria, June 20, 2023. MARCO LONGARI / AFP
Think of solar energy as a ” huge Bank account “ and green hydrogen as the key that will allow African countries to massively exploit this windfall. This is, with a certain sense of the formula, the metaphor hammered out by the Kenyan expert Richard Kiplagat during a panel organized on the occasion of the African Climate Summit, which was held from 4 to 6 September in Nairobi.
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In many states on the continent, the needs of national electricians are not sufficient, or renewable projects are not profitable enough, to exploit all of the gigantic solar and wind resources, but, “with green hydrogen, there is a new outlet, new buyers for these energies”explained the president of the working group for hydrogen in Africa.
Hydrogen, an atom with multiple industrial uses, is obtained by extracting this chemical element from materials where it is naturally present. Today, it is produced mainly from methane, an operation that emits a lot of greenhouse gases: it is therefore described as “gray”. Conversely, “green” hydrogen is extracted from water, through an electrolysis process powered by renewable energy, therefore without emissions.
Ripple effects on state economies
If the production of green hydrogen is still limited, it is considered crucial in achieving climate objectives, because this element can replace fossil products, not only in the production of electricity, but also in aviation or the manufacturing of fertilizers and metals (steel, aluminum, cement), high-emitting sectors. According to a recent study by Deloitte, the emergence of green hydrogen “will reshape the global energy and resources landscape by 2030, and might ultimately constitute a $1.4 trillion market [quelque 1 300 milliards d’euros] per year “.
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The States of the African continent are starting to take a serious interest in it. Six countries with strong solar potential (Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, Egypt, Morocco and Mauritania) have united within an African Green Hydrogen Alliance (AGHA) , with the objective of increasing, thanks to it, their cumulative gross domestic product from 6% to 12% by 2050. If North Africa has taken the lead, sub-Saharan countries already have some production sites ” on a small scale “ and, in Namibia and Mauritania, projects for more than 100 billion dollars of investments are under study, specifies Mr. Kiplagat at Monde.
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