The third issue of the African Knowledge Platform (AKP) newsletter offers a deep dive into energy matters. 

Three quarters of people lacking electricity live in Africa.  Roughly 1 in 6 healthcare facilities in sub-Saharan Africa have no access to electricity and only half of hospitals have reliable access. There is an urgent need for electrification. A new report titled “Energizing health: accelerating electricity access in health-care facilities” suggests that potential energy solutions already exist. Africa’s energy shortfall makes the expansion of clean energy infrastructure obvious and offers the continent an opportunity to leap directly to clean energy without first following the path of dirty fossil fuels.  

Under the EU-Africa Partnership, the Green Energy Initiative (AEGEI) of the Global Gateway Investment Package aims to increase access to energy and energy production in Africa. It will do this by creating a regulatory environment conducive to private investment and market integration. The main target of AEGEI, announced at the 6th EU–AU Summit held in Brussels in February 2022, is to deploy at least 50GW of renewable electricity in Africa by 2030. Achieving this goal would provide 100 million Africans access to clean energy. 

The AEGEI helps African partners to develop the Continental Power System Masterplan for the necessary infrastructure connecting the five African Power Pools. The European Union has provided €3.4 billion in grants, part of which will be used to leverage private-sector investments, with a total estimated funding of €15 billion. These structural interventions are designed to maximise societal benefits while minimising environmental costs. 

The AEGEI runs in parallel to the African Union’s Green Recovery Action Plan 2021-2027, which was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This Action Plan promotes post-pandemic economic recovery, while simultaneously promoting climate action through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and national just transition programmes. 

The expansion of clean energy technologies will, however, not be possible without a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials. In March 2023 the European Commission adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act that sets targets for the production, refining and recycling of the raw materials key to the green and digital transitions. The Act is accompanied by an updated list of Critical and Strategic materials for Europe, 90% of which originate from outside the EU. As a result, the Critical Raw Materials Act also requires that the EU identifies strategic partnerships in third countries – including in Africa – where local industries are supported and developed. 

Nuclear technology has the potential to reduce energy poverty in Africa while limiting greenhouse gas emissions. This will entail changes to the existing nuclear landscape. Safe, secure and safeguarded nuclear energy depends on international cooperation, including regional and bilateral collaboration, and capacity building. A regional approach to developing nuclear energy for peaceful use in Africa should prioritise nuclear safety and uphold international standards.  

Under the Instrument for Nuclear Safety Collaboration, the EU supports nuclear regulatory bodies in the African Union (AU) in areas of nuclear safety and nuclear safeguards. Collaboration on nuclear safety includes regulators in Morocco, Ghana, Tanzania and Egypt, as well as cooperation with regional organisations like the Arab Network of Nuclear Regulators (ANNuR), the Forum of Nuclear Regulatory Bodies in Africa (FNRBA) and the African Commission on Nuclear Energy (AFCONE). EU-AU collaboration on nuclear security is within the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Centres of Excellence Initiative led by the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instruments. 

Making these plans a reality depends on implementation strategies backed by robust evidence. The Africa Knowledge Platform hosts the interactive PV Decentralised Energy Investment index and the Clean Energy Access Tool, which guide the roll out of decentralised, cost-effective, clean, and easily deployable site-based solar energy. The Raw Materials Information System supports the Critical Raw Materials Act with updated information and dedicated profiles of African countries. 

This newsletter describes how the Africa Knowledge Platform aims to support the European Green Deal by uniting ambitious energy policies with cutting-edge science.