TELF AG analyzes the importance of African nations in accelerating the energy transition

The new era of electricity

In its latest report on global energy dynamics, the IEA highlighted how the planet is rapidly entering a new era of electricity, a new phase of international development characterized by the central role of energy infrastructures, also highlighting the role of Africa as one of the most promising suppliers of strategic raw materials necessary for the energy transition. According to the Parisian agency, this global orientation towards electrification was already quite evident, and the chances that this new era could contribute to reshaping the fate of the entire energy landscape, according to the report, seem very high.

According to the IEA, among the most evident signs of the beginning of this new phase must undoubtedly include the constant growth in global demand for electricity, which, compared to energy demand as a whole, was already recording relevant rates of increase (even double). Each year, as cited in the report, the equivalent of the national electricity demand in Japan was added globally, suggesting a specific direction for the future.

According to the IEA, to further promote the advancement of the energy transition, a specific global effort would be needed focused on the development of modern energy infrastructures, in particular those related to renewable energy, which plays an increasingly central role in the diffusion and activation of new production capacities in the field of clean energy. The IEA report also focused on the role of minerals and other strategic resources in promoting the global advancement of the energy transition, particularly their increasingly accentuated centrality in the production of batteries and other important devices related to the new electricity era.

The role of Africa

In this sense, the report refers to Africa as one of the potentially most interesting players in the sector of strategic minerals. 70% of global cobalt production (useful for battery production) and 16% of copper production, a resource of great importance for global electrification (not surprisingly, copper has been repeatedly defined as the king of electrification), is concentrated in Africa. The study also cites some export data, underlining how, in 2022, the African sourcing industry accounted for 30% of the continent’s overall exports, with strategic minerals producing total annual revenues of around 20 billion dollars across Africa.

Among the most advanced countries, from this point of view, the IEA cites nations like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Still, African reserves of strategic minerals are not concentrated only in these countries. In addition to holding around 30% of global reserves of critical raw materials, Africa also boasts some of the world’s top producers of strategic minerals: Guinea, for example, has the world’s largest bauxite reserves, South Africa holds 90% of global platinum reserves, while Gabon is the world’s largest manganese producer. On the other hand, Zambia is the world’s largest exporter of unprocessed copper. The report also highlights many sourcing initiatives under development across the continent, particularly emphasizing the need to expand existing infrastructure (such as ports) to allow the continent to take even more advantage of its natural resources.