Green hydrogen production is becoming established as one of those new industries with a seemingly assured future in which African countries and their copious renewable energy resources are well positioned to play a significant role. More than 50 projects have been proposed across the continent to supply an expected surge in global demand for green hydrogen and products that depend on it.
Leading the way in North Africa are Egypt, Morocco and Mauritania, all well located to serve European markets. In sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa can count on local demand, as well as looking to export markets, with countries such as Angola, Namibia, Kenya and Djibouti also seeking to put their green hydrogen plans in train.
It’s easy to understand the buzz around the industry and the interest development finance institutions (DFIs) are showing in supporting some projects.
Hydrogen is a feedstock suitable for everything from decarbonising energy-intensive industries such as steel and ammonia prodution to power generation, fuelling some forms of transport and for energy storage.
But climate change concerns mean that its future is limited if traditional production processes, which usually require natural gas and produce a lot of carbon emissions, are used. However, when produced using electrolysis powered by renewable energy, hydrogen becomes a low-emission green fuel across its life cycle.
