African Critical Minerals The Key to a Green Energy Future

Critical minerals are essential for the development of renewable energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, green hydrogen, electric vehicles (EVs), and battery storage, and Africa’s mineral wealth has the potential to benefit not only the continent, but to provide a foundation for the global energy transition.

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Accounting for more than 85% of most solar photovoltaic components, aluminum – for which bauxite accounts roughly 98% of its primary production – is used in most low-carbon technologies. Africa is home to approximately one-third of global bauxite reserves, with Guinea alone having accounted for over half of global aluminum ore exports in 2020.

The development of green hydrogen and decarbonization of sectors such as heavy transport, heating, and industry would not be possible without the development of PGM minerals, which include the ideal metals, such as iridium, palladium, and platinum, for catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel-cell technologies.

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South Africa accounted for over 70% of global platinum production between 2016 and 2020, and over 80% of global iridium production, while Zimbabwe serves as the world’s third largest producer of platinum and second largest producer of iridium.

The extraction and development of critical minerals has been taking an increasingly central position in the global economy. As such, competition for access to Africa’s critical minerals is expected to grow exponentially in the coming decades as the world transitions to a low-carbon energy future, with the world’s largest economies – China and the U.S. – vying for strategic control over global critical mineral supply chains, thus placing Africa at the heart of the global energy transition.

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The nexus between the global energy transition and Africa’s critical minerals will be further unpacked during the African Critical Minerals Summit scheduled for this November in Johannesburg.

The African Critical Minerals conference is organized by African investment promotion and events producer Energy Capital & Power.