Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, stated that building precursor facilities for lithium-ion batteries in Africa will cost three times less than in other parts of the world.
On December 1st, Dr. Adesina made this statement at the African Union (AU) Industrialization Summit in Niamey, Niger Republic.
Potentials of lithium:
He continued by saying that Africa has the potential to dominate the electric vehicle (EV) market. This is due to the necessity of lithium-ion batteries in the production of electric vehicles.
“The future of electric cars in the world depends on Africa, given its vast deposits of rare mineral resources, including lithium-ion, cobalt, nickel and copper. The size of the electric vehicle market has been estimated at $7 trillion by 2030 and $46 trillion by 2050.”
Adesina continued, stating that “Africa has an abundance of natural resources, oil, gas, minerals, and metals, as well as a vast blue economy that needs to be rapidly industrialised.”
Investment requirements: President Paul Kagame of Rwanda echoed Dr. Adesina’s remarks regarding the necessity of infrastructure and energy investments. He stated:
“The pace of industrialization in Africa is still too slow to achieve Africa’s development goals under Agenda 2063. We need to invest more of our national budgets in industrial policy, and significantly increase energy and infrastructure capacity.”
The International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that copper, silicon, lithium, and other rare earth minerals are essential for the development of future global power systems in its October 2022 World Energy Outlook. Outlook claims that lithium-ion batteries are the world’s fastest-growing storage technology, making lithium essential for upcoming electrical systems.
The IEA outlook also highlighted the need for policymakers to pay closer attention to the significance of these minerals for a safe and sustainable energy transition and how rising mineral prices and unstable supply chains that could be impacted by geopolitical events should be seen as warning signs.
