For a century, Europe has imported its energy from North Africa. Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and Sudan have significant oil and gas reserves and are important fossil fuel exporters.
A new form of energy is currently taking off, which seems to tick all the 21st century’s boxes. It may mean North Africa will continue to power Europe for another century or so, with no need to burn carbons.
That ‘new and improved’ energy is green hydrogen, and its potential is as vast as the Sahara, with hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of annual exports being predicted.
Carbon-free green hydrogen is a lightweight, highly reactive fuel that can be extracted through the electrochemical process that separates hydrogen from oxygen using water. Crucially, it is not something for the future. It is here now.
From cars to ships
By the end of this year, for instance, BMW plans to launch its BMW iX 5 H model that will run on green hydrogen, not the hybrid or fully-electric engines used in many of its cars today.
Hydrogen has obvious advantages to car makers, not least that it will allow a car to travel double the range without recharging.
Consumers conscious of the environmental impact are driving (pun intended) demand. Companies such as America’s Tesla and China’s BYD are listening and following up. Cars, buses, and trucks could all be part of the energy overhaul.
Yet this goes beyond the tarmac.
Germany recently decided to replace the engines of 1,700 commercial ships and convert them to green hydrogen as part of its plan to combat climate change and transition its energy infrastructure.
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Green hydrogen increasingly constitutes an economic and technological priority for both countries and companies seeking to enhance their competitiveness. For countries, they can do this by capitalising on their geographical advantages.
What nature endowed
The 'green' of 'green hydrogen' can be produced by solar power, which North Africa has in abundance, and since North Africa is a mere sea away from European consumers, it is perfectly placed in all senses of the word.
According to a report from Deloitte, an international consultancy, the global renewable energy market is currently worth around $1.4tn annually, but this will grow.
Crucially, in its report from July 2023, Deloitte said "between 15% and 30% of future energy needs is likely to be satisfied by hydrogen".
It added that North Africa "has the potential to export $110bn worth of green hydrogen to nearby European Union countries annually". The key producers could include Morocco, Egypt, and Algeria.
European Union countries have already relied heavily on their peers across the Mediterranean to help fill some of the energy gap created when pipelines shut down following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
A report on the Hydrogen Insight website points to Morocco being "one of Europe's potential hydrogen suppliers, benefiting from solar and wind energy as well as geographical proximity".
Lining up pipelines
The European plan involves pipelines stemming from the coast between Rabat and Cairo to transport hydrogen across the Med, given that this is easier and cheaper than shipping it via tankers.
It also proposes extending a hydrogen pipeline (along with the construction of a gas pipeline) between Nigeria and Morocco. This would then stretch the line 5,600km along Africa's long Atlantic coast.
Read more: Not just a ‘pipe’ dream, Morocco-Nigeria gas line set to transform Africa
The demand is certainly there. European markets previously imported 155 million cubic metres of Russian gas before the war. Indeed, European countries are already having conversations, trying to negotiate deals.
