• Green Rising
  • Posts
  • Africa’s next energy challenge is to enable delayed gratification

Africa’s next energy challenge is to enable delayed gratification

Renewables are growing up. Now for the hard part... storing energy to be consumed later. Hello grid-scale batteries

Author

Green Rising
November 28, 2024

Welcome to Green Rising – You may know the “marshmallow test”, measuring a child's ability to delay gratification: Resist the temptation to take a sweet in front of you now and get two later. 

Adults find this easier. Except when it comes to electricity. We don’t have good enough ways to store power at scale. 

But that’s changing. Grid-scale batteries are among the fastest growing energy areas globally.

The impact in Africa will be profound though not necessarily in the way one would expect. 

The continent has lots of solar power – which falters every 12 hours, just when we need it most. Perfect for big batteries.

But many African grids require upgrading before it’s worth investing in storage. That’s the greater priority.

Still, the minerals needed to manufacture batteries are abundant on the continent. 

Research indicates that large power storage units can be made locally at competitive prices.

⏳ Today’s reading time: 4 mins

EVENTS UPDATE | Thursday, November 28

📆 Morocco hosts an International Mining Conference (Dec 3)

📆 Kenya hosts the Women and Transport Africa Conference (Dec 4)

📆 Togo hosts a West Africa Energy Cooperation Summit (Dec 3)

ALSO PLEASE SEE OUR JOB BOARD BELOW

1. 🚁 Heli view: What it takes to create grid-scale storage

Here is a foodie glimpse of the future: Grid-scale batteries will be the maize or rice of the global energy sector. 

  • They’re chunky and unsophisticated – unlike the tiny batteries in smartphones.

  • They use lots of raw materials, but cooking them up does not take infinite finesse. 

Why it matters: Africa may not manufacture iPhone power units anytime soon. But making house-size battery stacks to sit outside towns in Norway or Germany far from African mines — that sounds doable. 

The context: Africa has made great progress in renewable energy generation in the past two decades. 

  • Its renewable capacity has reached 18% of the installed total. 

The crux: Generating electricity and being able to consume it are two different things, especially when relying on solar power. 

  • Supply levels rarely match demand surges. When the sun goes down, power use often goes up. 

To be sure: This is not a new problem. But traditional energy storage methods are no longer sufficient or even available. 

  • Hydro storage, where water is pumped uphill off-peak for release later, is falling out of favour due its cost and environmental concerns.

  • Climate change is further undermining traditional storage methods. Frequent droughts are impacting hydropower production.

The challenge: Sustainable economic development requires new methods to store energy at ever greater scale. 

  • Lithium-ion batteries and molten salt storage batteries are Africa’s best bet. 

Focus here: The holy grail of energy storage is creating grid-scale batteries. And it’s finally becoming a reality. 

  • The growth of the global electric vehicle market has fueled the evolution of lithium-ion batteries, making grid-scale applications more feasible. 

  • Economies of scale mean lithium-ion battery prices dropped 88% since 2010. 

  • Investments in power storage systems are expected to exceed $50 billion in 2024.

Guess what: Geopolitics is not far behind. Superpowers are keen on power storage.  

  • China is at the forefront of grid-scale development with an installed capacity of 27 GW, projected to surpass 57 GW by 2025. 

  • America has installed storage capacity of 16 GW. In three years, it has invested $92 billion in the sector. 

Here already: African nations are joining the frenzy. Some are installing Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

  • Africa has confirmed BESS developments totalling 1.7 GW of capacity by 2027. 

  • Projections show capacity could reach 4.8 GW by 2030 and 7.7 GW by 2040.

  • African nations in the BESS Consortium, launched at COP28, aim for a collective 5 GW.

Local disagreement: Some experts suggest focusing on Africa’s broken grids first before diving into storage. 

  • The issue varies by country. What’s clear though is the opportunity extends beyond installing storage. 

Big pitch: Resource-rich Africa could become a grid-scale battery manufacturer.

  • The Democratic Republic of Congo produces 70% of the world's cobalt, mostly for batteries.

  • Zimbabwe has substantial lithium reserves. South Africa is rich in manganese and nickel while Mozambique is noted for its graphite reserves. 

First actions: Africa is still a long way from making batteries at a meaningful scale but…

  • Morocco is collaborating with Chinese manufacturer Gotion to produce batteries and energy storage systems with a projected capacity of 100 GWs.

  • Zambia and the DRC signed agreements to develop an integrated battery value chain, enhancing their positions in the global market.

  • South African companies are increasingly investing in local manufacturing capabilities for lithium-ion batteries.

  • Ghana is mining lithium and wants to refine both local and imported lithium.

Step by step: The on-ramp for battery production will be in-country processing of the relevant raw materials. That’s the topic to watch when judging further potential.

2. Cheat sheet: Five alternative energy stores 

(i) Compression: Use renewable energy during off-peak hours to push air into sturdy containers at high density. When released later, the air can drive turbines. 

(ii) Flywheels: Used by NASA in space and children the world over, wind up a flywheel when energy is abundant, then letting it rotate back later to free the power. 

(iii) Gravity: Lift a heavy object high up and secure it there. Then later when energy is required, release it and the pull towards earth generates power. 

(iv) Pumping: Move water uphill in times of abundant energy and store it in a dam or other container. Open sluice gates to drive a turbine when power is needed.

(v) Sand: Heat sand or similar substances to great temperatures (500 degrees C). It will hold the heat for months under the right circumstances, ready for release on demand.

3. Number of the week 

…is the estimated value of cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo secured by Chinese firms. This results from Chinese stakes or ownership of 15 out of 19 cobalt mines in a country that produces over 70% of the world's cobalt.

❝

4. Network corner

👉 Wahu Mobility founder, Valerie Yabi, was named the Woman of the Year at the EMY Africa Awards

👉 South Africa’s Re.Bag.Re.Use wins Global Communications Award in ESG at the World Public Relations Forum

5. What we’re reading

  • Mining finance hurdles: Africa’s mining sector faces increasing complexities of financing critical mineral projects. Despite $5 billion being mobilised globally in 2023 for junior and mid-tier companies, this amount is insufficient to support the $1 billion multi-decade projects required to meet growing demand for strategic minerals like lithium, cobalt and nickel. Challenges include market flaws such as China's dominance, lack of green premiums and the scarcity of high-quality projects. Traditional equity investors are hesitant due to geopolitical and market uncertainties. (Mining Weekly)

  • Need for ethical mining partnership: Countries like Zimbabwe and Namibia are shifting focus by banning raw mineral exports to promote domestic value-added processing. While China dominates with its entrenched mining and processing networks, its business practices have drawn criticism and created opportunities for alternative models. The United States may form partnerships aligned with Africa's development goals, securing resources while supporting the continent’s growth. (Atlantic Council)

  • Focus on private capital: Rwanda has emerged as a key player in Africa's private capital landscape, securing $120 million in Q3 2024, with $60 million directed toward renewable energy projects, $40 million to technology startups, and $20 million to logistics and infrastructure. The Stears Private Capital in Africa Report revealed $2.27 billion in total private capital investments across 73 deals, with Rwanda demonstrating significant growth potential, supported by Vision 2050 reforms and its integration into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). (Stears)

6. Top green jobs from…

📬 Did a friend send you this newsletter? Welcome, sign up here using their referral link.

Thanks to the Green Rising team for putting this together.

Reply

or to participate.