Harnessing the potential for renewable energy and green hydrogen production, or replacing carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms in the energy value chain, can build peace and stability in Africa, petroleum company Conex Liberia MD Amitahb Prasad has said.

“By 2035, Africa can produce 50-million tons of competitively priced green hydrogen. The expected global demand for green hydrogen is 607-million tons by 2050. In comparison, Africa’s demand for green hydrogen and its derivatives is expected to reach 10-million to 18-million tons a year by 2050, but with a production potential much above that.

“Africa can export, after meeting internal demand, between 20-million and 40-million tons a year of green hydrogen by 2050. It can therefore consume its own production of green hydrogen and have sufficient surplus to export,” Prasad said at the Hydrogen Africa conference, held in Johannesburg, in late September.

Further, the potential cost to produce green hydrogen was estimated at about $2.50/kg by 2030 and could trend lower to between $1/kg and $2/kg by 2050.

The future energy basket would see blue hydrogen continue to play a role, with an estimated 31% of hydrogen derived from blue processes and 69% derived from green processes, although grey hydrogen would cease to be part of the basket, Prasad added.

An International Energy Agency study in 2022 estimated that Africa could produce green hydrogen at a cost of between $1.50/kg and $2.70/kg, and require investment of between $450-billion and $900-billion by 2050.

“Harnessing Africa’s renewables and hydrogen potential will not only help to overcome some of the social and development problems in Africa, but is a good business case that makes sense,” said Prasad.

Africa has 17% of the world’s population, 20% of its arable land, but produces only 4% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs). African countries are vulnerable to climate change, despite not being large contributors to GHGs.

Key to unlocking the potential of green hydrogen is to ensure legal ease of securing land, he added.