According to a study supported by the European Investment Bank, Africa has the capacity to create €1 trillion ($1.06 trillion) in green hydrogen annually by 2035, enabling it to export the fuel and support local industry.
According to a paper released on Wednesday by the EIB and its partners, the African Union and the International Solar Alliance, several nations on the continent could generate the fuel, which is made by splitting water using renewable energy, for less than two euros per kilogram by 2030.
As the globe searches for alternatives to climate-warming fossil fuels and as Europe attempts to reduce its reliance on Russian natural gas, whose supplies have proven unstable due to the political turmoil caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, demand for the clean-burning fuel is increasing.
Researchers predict that the continent’s three main hubs—Egypt, a hub in the northwestern region composed of Morocco and Mauritania, and a hub in the southern region composed of Namibia and South Africa—would produce gasoline. Although those countries’ plans to create the fuel are the most advanced, they claimed that production might begin in a number of other countries, including Algeria, Nigeria, and Mozambique.
The largest producer would be Egypt, producing 20 million tons annually. The hub in Southern Africa would come in second with 17.5 million tons, and Morocco and Mauritania could each generate 12.5 million tons. According to the researchers, 15% of that, or around half, might be made available for export.
Additionally, the fuel might be utilized locally to create “green steel fertilizer.”
