TheCable

Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), says Africa is the perfect destination to build batteries for electric cars. 

Speaking on Thursday at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue hosted by the German government, Adesina said Africa has significant reserves of cobalt, manganese, and platinum which could be used to build a robust manufacturing sector rather than being exported as raw materials. 

 “Africa is a crucial source for minerals and metals for clean energy value chains, including electric vehicles and utility-scale battery storage. Africa is therefore the perfect place to build lithium-ion batteries to power German cars,” he said.

The AfDB president said there was an urgent need to reduce the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and harness Africa’s renewable energy sources.

He called on Germany to invest in a cleaner, brighter, and more prosperous future for Africa, saying that the continent has enormous potential to become a global leader in sustainable development. 

Adesina said the potential was inhibited by energy challenges faced by millions of Africans such as a lack of clean cooking and electricity.

He said to achieve the seventh sustainable development goal of providing affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all, the continent must connect 90 million people annually to electricity by 2030 and shift 130 million people from dirty cooking fuels each year. 

Adesina, who said Africa’s energy transition would require an estimated $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2040, insisted that natural gas should be a crucial part of the continent’s diversified energy mix to guarantee a secure energy supply.

“Africa must be given time to transition and be allowed to use its natural gas resources as a transition fuel, just like it is the case in Germany, as well as Europe. Natural gas is therefore a key part of the energy mix for assuring the security of supply and critical for Africa,” he added.