By Simon Nare
President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded Africa as the best placed continent to play a massive role in the green hydrogen system, with rich minerals, vast land and an abundance of renewable resources.
Addressing the inaugural Africa Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town on Thursday, Ramaphosa told delegates from across the continent that Africa must take its place to leverage the global shift towards cleaner energy sources to its collective advantage.
The president said green hydrogen was a way to marry Africa’s mineral riches with its renewable energy endowment to decarbonise heavy industries, create jobs, stimulate investment and to unlock inclusive growth across borders.
“Our beloved continent Africa, the cradle of humanity, is uniquely positioned to become a major player in green hydrogen because it has abundant renewable resources manifested in high solar irradiance, strong winds and hydropower potential.
“The growing global demand for clean hydrogen as countries decarbonise their industries, transport and energy systems present unlimited opportunities for our continent,” he said.
Ramaphosa added that as demand for green hydrogen grew, so did demand for platinum group metals, which would sustain and expand the continent’s mining and refining industries.
He urged delegates to use the platform to shape the continent’s shared ambitions in this regard.
Ramaphosa mentioned the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance, which has brought together a number of African nations, including Egypt, Kenya, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia and South Africa.
Under this alliance, he said more than 52 large-scale green hydrogen projects have been announced across the continent. These included the Coega Green Ammonia project in South Africa, the AMAN project in Mauritania and Project Nour in Morocco.
He added that the alliance has targeted 30 to 60 million tons of green hydrogen production by 2050, and it could create between two and four million new jobs in alliance member states by 2050.
“To make use of these opportunities, we need to establish appropriate policy and regulatory environments. We must continue to move as a continent to develop regional certification schemes, hydrogen corridors and green product export platforms,” he said
Ramaphosa commended Mauritania for the early steps it has taken on certification.
“It will be critical that we learn from one another and converge on standards that work for Africa. The recently launched Green Hydrogen Report is a consolidation of 35 underlying studies, providing the most comprehensive insight to date into the continent’s green hydrogen potential,” he said.
He added that a number of recent global developments further supported the potential of Africa’s green hydrogen ecosystem, and the H2Global mechanism was opening its second bidding window, with one of the four lots allocated to Africa.
The African lot, which he said was funded by the German government, would guarantee off-take for successful projects on the continent.
The president said a Joint Declaration of Intent with the German government focused on market access, off-take opportunities and value-additive benefits in the production of green steel and green fertiliser.
Ramaphosa also spoke about the Hydrogen South Africa project, which had received a R1.49 billion from the country to date.
He said through a partnership with the European Union, South Africa has prioritised support to projects like Sasol’s HySHiFT programme, which aimed to produce up to 400,000 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel annually.
HySHiFT could anchor demand for up to 20 GW of green hydrogen and represented a scalable model for industrial decarbonisation.
Ramaphosa said that during its G20 Presidency, South Africa has chosen to prioritise a just energy transition as engines of economic growth and social development.
“The Africa Green Hydrogen Summit is an important part of that vision. Hydrogen is a bridge to a new export industry for African countries. It is an enabler for Africa’s energy independence and climate resilience.
“More importantly hydrogen is an anchor for industrial transformation and infrastructure investment,” he said.
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