Context
Green Hydrogen (produced by renewable energy sources) is an important option for African Green Transition given the abundance of renewable energy resources on the continent. Green Hydrogen could be an option for African countries for decarbonization of their economies but also for economic development taking into consideration the potential for hydrogen exports toward other continents, especially Europe. REPowerEU sets a target of 10 million tonnes of domestic renewable hydrogen production and 10 million tonnes of renewable hydrogen imports by 2030[1]. In 2050 the volume of Green Hydrogen imported in EU from North Africa could be closed to 15 million tonnes (not including liquefied hydrogen or ammonia). Green Hydrogen will also have various applications in African energy systems.
As reported by IEA (IEA, GlobalHydrogenReview2023[2]) in 2022 35% of hydrogen was produced inside the refineries from by-product of catalytic reformers, over 40% from fossil fuel and the rest from external companies, based on the by-product of the refineries. This mean that, at this stage, Hydrogen is largely produced at world level through natural gas reforming for utilisation in industry (fertilisers…) but the process is very energy-intensive and generates large CO2 emissions. Using Capture and Storage of CO2 coupled with natural gas reforming (blue hydrogen) may be a long-term option but still remains with strong technical and economic uncertainties. This technological roadmap relies only on Green Hydrogen (i.e. produced by renewable energy).
Several African countries already developed green hydrogen strategies or roadmaps (Morocco[3], South Africa[4], Algeria[5], Egypt[6], Mauritania, Namibia[7], Kenya…). …). In the West African region, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) has developed the ECOWAS Green Hydrogen Policy and Strategic Framework. The European Commission supports projects on Green Hydrogen in Africa including JUST-GREEN AFRH2ICA[8] coordinated by University of Genova and GREEN HYDROGEN: BRIDGING THE ENERGY TRANSITION IN AFRICA. Florence School of Innovation aims to identify the conditions of green hydrogen deployment in Africa and SUNERGY is creating a Circular Economy Technological Roadmap[9].
Mission Innovation (MI) is an international initiative set up by more than 20 countries during Paris Agreement negotiation to foster research and innovation on Clean and low carbon technologies through international cooperation. MI identified several fields to strengthen research and innovation (R&I) at international level among which hydrogen through its Hydrogen Mission and Hydrogen Valleys, as well as direct conversion of sunlight into sustainable fuels and chemicals is addressed.
This document relies on these strategies and scenarios and aims at identifying research and innovation priorities for R&I projects which could be selected and funded through joint calls operated by funding organisations from Africa and Europe.
LEAP-SE (Long term Research and Innovation Europe Africa Partnership on Sustainable Energy) is a project launched in 2024 gathering funding organisations from Europe and Africa and supported by the European Commission. The project will launch calls for R&I projects on sustainable energy gathering research and innovation teams from both continents aiming at developing the cooperation between EU and AU. LEAP-SE will focus on Green Hydrogen production in Africa and the utilisation of Green Hydrogen in African national energy systems as one of the seven priorities in the field of Sustainable Energy.
Green Hydrogen technologies scope
Green Hydrogen is produced using energy from renewable resources and could be a highly efficient decarbonized energy vector. Africa has the potential to be a major producer of Green Hydrogen due to its renewable energy resources and available space and could benefit from leapfrogging hydrogen technologies developed around the world. Green Hydrogen is an opportunity for the African green transition through domestic application of Green Hydrogen and its derivatives.
Green Hydrogen production in Africa may rely on water electrolysis with renewable electricity (solar, wind, hydro…). Most current conversion technologies require purified water sources (purification increases the cost and complexity of systems). Developing concepts to utilise brackish water, seawater, or contaminated water could improve the systems. Coupling solar fuel processes with solar-driven water desalination and/or purification creates new potential opportunities.
Green Hydrogen may also be produced from biogas reforming or biomass gasification. Natural Hydrogen resources in Africa are also being investigated (HyAfrica project funded under LEAP-RE is exploring this issue).
The direct conversion of sunlight into hydrogen or chemicals is also an alternative that could play a crucial role. Solar fuels involve the direct production of energy-rich chemicals and fuels from sunlight, water, and air (e.g. CO2 and nitrogen). Solar fuels generation embodies several anthropogenic and biologically assisted processes to convert solar energy directly to fuels, chemical products, and materials. Like solar electricity, solar fuels can be generated using light energy directly from sunlight, often referred to as artificial photosynthesis, or by using heat from sunlight to drive high-temperature thermal processes.
