BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 28. Africa is well-positioned to help to lead the revolution on clean energy and industrial value chains, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, said, addressing the 9th Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, Trend reports.
According to him, Africa accounts for 80 percent of the world's platinum reserves, 50 percent of the cobalt reserves, and 40 percent of the manganese reserves and, of course, huge resources for graphite and lithium.
“Africa is therefore a crucial source for minerals and metals for clean energy value chains including electric vehicles and utility-scale battery storage. And we should not just export. We are used to doing that in Africa. Export everything raw. That is the fastest way to poverty. We must and we should manufacture. Africa is the perfect place to build lithium ion batteries to power German cars. We must also unlock Africa's potential for green hydrogen, which is estimated at $1 trillion,” he said.
The president noted that some African countries have already started developing green hydrogen projects. To support this development, as well as drive the growth of green infrastructure in Africa, the African Development Bank, Africa 50 and the African's Union have launched what is called the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGEA).
“AGEA targets to raise $10 billion to accelerate just an equitable transition to net zero emissions. I look forward to Germany's strong support for this organization,” he added.