A recent report by the Emirates energy group Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) suggests that Africa could produce green hydrogen at one of the lowest costs in the world: between $1.8 and $2.6 per kg in 2030, and between $1.2 and $1.6 per kg from 2050. This fact is due to the high capacity of the continent to produce renewable energy.
The report specified above highlights that Africa enjoys renewable energy capacity factors ranging from 28% to 36% for solar and 26% to 51% for onshore wind.
Due to the development of hydrogen production technologies, such as electrolyzers and the reduction of production costs from renewable energy, green hydrogen costs are expected to continue to decrease by around $1.2 to $1.6 per kg in 2050.
The data contained in the report estimate that the optimal exploitation of the solar and wind potential of African countries should allow the continent to produce between 30 and 60 million tons of green hydrogen per year by 2050; that is, around 10% of the global green hydrogen market for that date.
Thanks to these data, it is estimated that the African hydrogen industry with such a high production capacity could generate between 1.9 and 3.7 million direct jobs. It would also increase the continent\’s cumulative gross domestic product from $60 billion to $120 billion by 2050. Other favorable factors include the proximity of certain demand centers, such as Europe.
In total, 23 projects have been announced in the continent for cumulative investments close to 100,000 million dollars (30,000 million for equipment and approximately 70,000 million dollars for the renewable energies necessary for the production of hydrogen). These projects will focus mainly on the North Africa and South Africa sub-regions. 90% of its future production is destined for export.
