Africa has the potential to produce €1 trillion ($1.06 trillion) worth of green hydrogen a year by 2035, according to a study backed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), as reported by Bloomberg.
By harnessing the world’s best solar energy resource, a number of countries on the continent could produce the fuel at a cost of less than two euros a kilogram by 2030, the EIB and its partners, the African Union and the International Solar Alliance, said in the report released on Dec. 21.
Researchers assume that fuel would be produced in three major hubs on the continent – Egypt; a northwestern hub of Morocco and Mauritania; and a Southern Africa hub of Namibia and South Africa. While plans to produce the fuel are most advanced in those nations, a number of other countries, ranging from Algeria to Nigeria and Mozambique, have the potential to start production, they said.
Egypt would be the biggest producer at 20 million mt/y. Second would be the Southern African hub, with 17.5 million mt/y, while Morocco and Mauritania could together produce 12.5 mt/y tons. About half of that, equivalent to 15% of Europe’s gas needs, could be available for export, the researchers said.
The fuel could also be used locally in the production of other green products, including fertilizer.