There is considerable potential for African countries to be trendsetters and major players in developing the green hydrogen industry, especially given the continent’s abundance of natural resources; however, there are some challenges that must be overcome as this is pursued.

This was highlighted during RES4Africa Labs’ fifth online webinar, which focused on green hydrogen potential in Africa.

RES4Africa RES4MED area manager Paolo Cutrone outlined that green hydrogen was now being considered as a key strategic component of energy transition, security and economic development pathways. He said this was occurring at different rates globally, including in Africa, where Morocco was considered a pioneer.

Cutrone pointed out that while green hydrogen was not limited to Africa, the continent was attracting attention as an ideal location for the development of a green hydrogen economy for several key reasons.

This, he said, included the continent’s renewable energy potential, with Africa boasting vast and diverse natural resources, and ever-growing solar and wind capacity pointing towards the considerable potential for competitive low-carbon, lower-cost and multipurpose electricity production.

Moreover, green hydrogen presented opportunities for new industries and markets as countries sought to leapfrog and avoid mistakes of the past when planning out the energy industrial infrastructure of the future, Cutrone said.

He further noted that governments across the world were setting energy transition targets and defining pathways on how to reach those targets.

Cutrone highlighted that opportunities for the continent in green hydrogen included decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors and matching local industrial demand to achieve carbon neutrality targets.

Moreover, countries could use it to improve energy security and diversify their energy transition strategies, he said.

Also, they could use the infrastructure for the production of hydrogen for other local needs, such as desalination, Cutrone pointed out.

Further, countries could grow and develop a hydrogen economy to unlock local value and long-term jobs, he said.

They could also fast-track industrialisation through hydrogen-related technologies and foster capacity building and create Africa’s competitive and technical skills of tomorrow, Cutrone averred.

However, he cautioned that there were challenges that needed to be overcome.

Among the challenges were the differing local contexts and the fact that not all countries had the required existing infrastructure to support the green hydrogen economy.

Moreover, proximity between consumption and production pools was another challenge, with supply and demand needing to be connected.

He also indicated challenges in prioritising and sizing renewable energy investments for access to electricity, and then availing the accompanying supply chain to support the green hydrogen ecosystem development.

Cutrone also noted the need for clear policy signals as a key driver for transparency and good governance following clear strategies and plans.

Also, he said that resources posed a challenge, especially water, with this being a heavy-water-use industry. There were also safety issues to consider, Cutrone added.

He posited that there were several ways a green hydrogen economy should be pursued on the continent.

Firstly, he suggested that green hydrogen strategies and policies should be integrated into broader and country-specific energy strategies, with the aim of benefiting energy access, accelerating renewable energy deployment, maximising social impact by enhancing job creation, environmental integrity, and efficient natural resources management.

Also, countries should create a green hydrogen ecosystem and accompany new infrastructure with additional competitive renewable energy and logistical value chains, Cutrone said. This, he stated, would ensure that green hydrogen contributed to creating local value chains and accelerating local just-energy transitions.

He also emphasised the need to foster knowledge, technical and human capacities. He posited that tailored capacity building and training on green hydrogen could remove barriers to the participation of local communities, civil society and all relevant stakeholders, to drive and boost the development of the continent’s green hydrogen future across the region. 

Cutrone said countries should also enable multi-stakeholder win-win partnerships and domestic hubs or approaches to anchor projects.

He elaborated that the inclusion of green hydrogen should involve local companies, associations, research centres and universities, and should ensure transparent governance for the development of its value chain, as well as international partnerships and engagement.

Lastly, Cutrone said environmental and safety impacts should be prioritised. He called for countries to minimise the burden on natural resources that were already under pressure, as well as to minimise the impact of new infrastructure, production and waste through standards and controls, and to address safety concerns as well.