Cobalt is an essential mineral for the manufacture of batteries and electric vehicles. The DRC and Zambia, which together account for almost 80% of the world’s cobalt reserves, have decided to set up an African value chain for the production of batteries and electric vehicles. Part of the partnership is to tap into a market that will be worth about $46 billion by 2050. This project was the focus of a conference held on 26 February 2023 in Niamey, Niger, as a prelude to the ninth session of the African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development (ARDF-9).
Toute l'actu sur la protection de l'environnement
Cobalt is an essential mineral for the manufacture of batteries and electric vehicles. The DRC and Zambia, which together account for almost 80% of the world’s cobalt reserves, have decided to set up an African value chain for the production of batteries and electric vehicles. Part of the partnership is to tap into a market that will be worth about $46 billion by 2050. This project was the focus of a conference held on 26 February 2023 in Niamey, Niger, as a prelude to the ninth session of the African Regional Forum for Sustainable Development (ARDF-9).
At the Africa Business Forum in Kinshasa on 24-25 November 2021, a BloombergNEF representative presented a study showing that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) could exploit its cobalt reserves to become a cost-competitive and CO2 emission-competitive producer of battery cathode precursor materials. The study also found that investment costs in the DRC were lower than in any of the other major battery producing countries, due to their relatively low project development costs, even after taking into account infrastructure, labour and other costs.
The opportunity for the DRC lies in the fact that the country alone has 70% of the world’s cobalt reserves. This mineral is essential for the manufacture of electric batteries. To seize this opportunity, the DRC has joined forces with Zambia, which has 10% of the world’s cobalt reserves. The two countries aim to create an African value chain for the minerals used to make batteries.
The two states are being supported by development partners such as the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Economic Commission (AEC). For the UN body, the project should benefit the entire continent. « The minerals involved in the value chain for the production of batteries and electric vehicles are present in all African countries. And to move to the production of electric vehicles, we need African countries that already have the expertise in this area, including South Africa, Morocco, Kenya, and Rwanda, » explains Antonio Pedro, ECA’s Acting Executive Secretary.
The project feasibility study
ECA, AfreximBank and a consortium of partners are working directly with the DRC and Zambia to establish a value chain for battery minerals.
A feasibility study of the project to create an African regional value chain for minerals used in the manufacture of batteries and electric vehicles will be launched in the coming days by the ECA. The study will, among other things, estimate the cost of the project as well as the source of funding, define the legal and policy framework for the activity and analyse African expertise in the field.
This feasibility study will add to the progress already made by the DRC and Zambia, notably the establishment of a cooperation framework for the development of electric batteries, the creation of an African Centre of Excellence on Batteries (ACEB), and the establishment of the DRC-Zambia Battery Council.
A market worth around $46 billion
The stakes of an African value chain for the minerals needed to manufacture electric batteries are colossal. Over the next 25 years, the market for electric batteries should reach 46 billion dollars. The stakes are also ecological, given that cobalt is also used in the manufacture of solar panels and wind farms. This would be a boon for a continent like Africa, where nearly 600 million people have no access to electricity, according to the World Bank.
Fanta Mabo
Le cobalt est un minerais indispensable à la fabrication des batteries et véhicules électriques. La RDC et la Zambie, qui totalisent à elles seules près de 80% des réserves mondiales de cobalt, ont décidé de mettre sur pieds une chaîne de valeur africaine de production des batteries et véhicules électriques. Le partenariat consiste entre autres à tirer profit d’un marché qui pèsera environ 46 milliards de dollars d’ici à 2050. Ce projet était au cœur d’une conférence, tenue le 26 février 2023 à Niamey au Niger, en prélude à la neuvième session du Forum régional africain pour le développement durable (Fradd-9). Plus de détails dans cet élément de Boris Ngounou
(Audio) AFRIQUE : vers la création d’une chaîne de valeur des batteries électriques
Le cobalt est un minerais indispensable à la fabrication des batteries et véhicules électriques. La RDC et la Zambie, qui totalisent à elles seules près de 80% des réserves mondiales de cobalt, ont décidé de mettre sur pieds une chaîne de valeur africaine de production des batteries et véhicules électriques. Le partenariat consiste entre autres à tirer profit d’un marché qui pèsera environ 46 milliards de dollars d’ici à 2050. Ce projet était au cœur d’une conférence, tenue le 26 février 2023 à Niamey au Niger, en prélude à la neuvième session du Forum régional africain pour le développement durable (Fradd-9). Plus de détails dans cet élément de Boris Ngounou
BirdLife promotes the consideration of migratory birds in wind farm projects in Africa. The nature conservation organisation offers several tools such as Avistep and Shut Down on Demand, which help to avoid bird collisions in wind farms.
Green energy plants do not necessarily operate in a « clean » way. Especially in Africa, wind farms sometimes pose a threat to biodiversity, especially birds. The long-distance migratory Egyptian vulture, listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as globally endangered, is one of the birds at risk from wind farms in Africa. Thousands of the species have died from electrocution and collisions with poorly designed power lines or wind turbine blades along the species’ migration corridors.
According to studies conducted in South Africa by the conservation organisation BirdLife, 2,294 dead birds were counted at renewable energy production sites between 2006 and 2011. The Amur Falcon (Falco amurensis), the Jackal Buzzard (Buteo rufofuscus) and the Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) paid the highest toll.
Preventive methods
To prevent migratory birds from falling on wind energy sites, BirdLife has developed risk screening tools, such as the Avian Sensitivity Tool for Energy Planning (AVISTEP), which is being rolled out in Africa and elsewhere. Avistep is an open source online application to help decision-makers identify where renewable energy infrastructure could impact on birds and should therefore be avoided, ensuring that energy facilities are developed in the most appropriate locations.
BirdLife also advocates the use of mitigation measures such as Shut Down on Demand (Shod) to prevent bird collisions at wind farms. Shod involves stopping the rotation of turbines to avoid collisions with vulnerable birds coming in the opposite direction. The device restarts the turbines when the threat of collision is no longer present.
Another solution is to paint the blades of the wind turbines black. According to Norwegian researchers, this technique could reduce bird strikes in wind farms by 70%. But tests are planned, notably in wind farms in the Netherlands and South Africa, to confirm that this significant reduction is not only due to the specificities of the bird species tested in Norway.
Fata Mabo
AFRICA: How to protect biodiversity in wind farms?
BirdLife promotes the consideration of migratory birds in wind farm projects in Africa. The nature conservation organisation offers several tools such as Avistep and Shut Down on Demand, which help to avoid bird collisions in wind farms.
Environnementales 10
Environnementales, le plus grand magazine radiophonique de contribution à la protection de l’environnement, célèbre ses 10 ans.
Yaoundé, esplanade de la Radio Tiemeni Siantou, du 27 au 31 mars 2023.
Partenaires, mécènes, sponsors, prenez contact au 674 03 39 89
Environnementales, 10 ans de radio au service de la nature. Egalement disponible sur environnementales.com.
Environnementales 10
Environnementales, le plus grand magazine radiophonique de contribution à la protection de l’environnement, célèbre ses 10 ans.
Yaoundé, esplanade de la Radio Tiemeni Siantou, du 27 au 31 mars 2023.
Partenaires, mécènes, sponsors, prenez contact au 674 03 39 89
Environnementales, 10 ans de radio au service de la nature. Egalement disponible sur environnementales.com.
In collaboration with the government of Zimbabwe, 61 solar-powered water systems have been installed in Harare by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative will enable the capital’s residents to cope with extreme weather events.
With a component dedicated to combating the effects of climate change, the project launched in 2020 in Harare, Zimbabwe, by the government and its partners, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has relied on renewable energy to provide an alternative water supply system for vulnerable communities.
In a note published on 17 November 2022, the AfDB and UNICEF said that 61 solar-powered water systems had been deployed, 164 boreholes had been rehabilitated and 15 new water points had been dug, benefiting 854,975 people. As part of the project, 10,000 WASH kits were also distributed to beneficiaries, with priority given to people with disabilities or living with HIV/AIDS. And the health and hygiene messages delivered through the project have targeted more than 1.8 million people, according to the two organisations.
Persistent water shortages
The project by the Zimbabwean government and its partners comes against a backdrop of persistent water shortages in many areas in and around Harare, including the town of Chitungwiza. The combined production capacity of the two water treatment plants in the city (Morton Jaffray and Prince Edward) of 704 mega-litres/day cannot meet the demand of some 800 mega-litres/day to supply about 4.5 million people. In fact, current production is even lower, at 500 mega-litres/day. And the quality of the water has deteriorated, due to power cuts that affect the water treatment capacity.
In the absence of alternatives, many Harare residents have fallen back on unsafe water sources, exposing themselves to the risk of water-borne diseases (diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, etc.).
This water stress is mainly caused by global warming. As a result of prolonged droughts, the environment of the Chivero and Manyame watersheds, which supply the city’s two drinking water stations, has deteriorated (increased surface runoff, soil erosion, siltation of lakes, among others). According to the government, these water bodies have declined in volume by 6% and 10%, respectively, from their original capacities.
One of Oxfam’s latest reports, « Hunger in a Warming World », states that Zimbabwe is one of only seven of the 10 African countries identified as being most at risk from climate change worldwide. The southern African country ranks second in the Global Climate Risk Index 2021. And according to the latest projections, Zimbabwe is likely to continue warming by 2080 if nothing is done.
Fanta Mabo
ZIMBABWE: Solar pumps to address climate change in Harare
In collaboration with the government of Zimbabwe, 61 solar-powered water systems have been installed in Harare by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The initiative will enable the capital’s residents to cope with extreme weather events.