Corrie de Jager (CEO at Hydrox Holdings), "Let's develop domestic African hydrogen markets!"

The African Hydrogen Partnership (AHP) would like to thank Corrie de Jager [CEO at Hydrox Holdings (an AHP Pioneer Member) | AHP representative at the DEVAC Hydrogen-H Conference & Expo 2023], DEVAC INVEST AFRICA and all participants at the DEVAC Hydrogen-H for the insightful discussions.

Corrie de Jager explained that the hydrogen industry should focus on the development of domestic African hydrogen markets for numerous good reasons:

- low green H2 production cost,

- low green H2 transportation costs since hydrogen can be produced "on-site",

- low H2 refueling and dispensing costs,

- high costs of competing refined fossil fuels,

- the decarbonization of sub-Saharan Africa requires "virtual" hydrogen pipelines (compressed hydrogen tube trailers) due to insufficient electric grids,

- spot market transactions, i.e. no subsidized financial derivatives markets are needed.

Though sub-Saharan Africa suffers from "energy poverty", the Global North has a "green energy poverty" problem as the latest political debates in Europe illustrate. This is a great opportunity for renewables and green hydrogen as well as for developing local expertise and manufacturing capabilities in Africa since green energy will be significantly less expensive in Africa than in the Western nations of the Global North.