- By Halimah Olamide
“Africa will drive the global agenda on renewable and green energy transitions for two reasons. We have great sunshine, which has about 11 terawatts of solar potential.”
This was the submission by the President of the Africa Development Bank, Prof Akinwumi Adesina. Adesina spoke on. Monday at the sidelines of the AfDB Annual Meetings 2024.
While emphasising the advantages that are in renewable energy, Adesina said that Africa’s rich reservoir of natural resources, including platinum, copper, and lithium, positioned the continent as a key player in the burgeoning Electric Vehicle (EV) market. “And so Africa today has 90 per cent of all the platinum in the world. It has well over 60- 70 per cent of all the copper you have worldwide.
“Fifty per cent of all the other metals, whether nickel or lithium. Africa has a massive amount of these natural metals that will determine the future of electric vehicles in the world.
“And so how Africa harnesses that for its transformation will be critical, but also critical for how Africa positions itself globally in those value chains.
“So there are potential, opportunities, and positioning issues for Africa within the context of your global electric vehicles and battery energy storage systems.”