One of the swift transiting factors in reducing energy poverty and sustainable decarbonisation in Sub-Saharan Africa is the effective adoption and recognition of hydrogen production from renewable sources in a commercial quantity. Hydrogen has the innovative and disruptive potential of helping Sub-Saharan Africa meet its energy demands, and the stigmatisation of abject poverty in the land could be a thing of the past.

This process of generating energy through renewable sources will significantly increase the technological process of strengthening Africa’s Green Energy Revolution (Green Economy). Further to this process, the increasing global attention and focus on clean, affordable, and accessible energy solutions for the future, which changes our energy capacity from fossil fuel to a more sustainable means, can also be seen as a meaningful factor for the transition.

Scholars have recently showcased an understanding of energy poverty and its damaging impact on the economy. The limitations attributed to energy poverty deepen into the uncontrollable energy insecurity, inaccessibility, inequality, unavailability, and unaffordability of energy in most of the Sub-Saharan nations across Africa. However, it will be overemphasised if we only consider green energy accessibility as the panacea to climate change.

Green energy, such as hydrogen, is produced from renewable energy sources such as solar, geothermal, biomass and wind that generate high concentrations of electrolysis form of hydrogen and oxygen.

The hydrogen produced from this transformation process is converted to energy that supports and increases the energy supplied to the national grid for the general public’s consumption. However, the oxygen generated during the process is released back into the atmosphere.

Considering the green hydrogen energy market with the Sub-Saharan Africa, the Southern African countries who have progressed with a meaningful intention of achieving a sustainable green economy with a significant emission reduction of 1.5 according to the Paris Climate Agreement.

These countries within the Southern Africa such as Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique have all declared a progressive intention of going into a productive partnership with other African nations in sharing their technical-know-how on hydrogen energy technological advancement and expertise. This process will provide a drastic intervention to the decarbonization problems in Sub-Saharan Africa in generation a greater green energy transition.
Nigeria as a case study

In recent times, Nigeria was rated the largest oil and gas producer in Africa by the Statistical Review of World Energy 2022. This argument depicts Nigeria’s disruptive and continuous oil and gas pipeline vandalism and theft. The oil theft and pipeline vandalism menace have significantly contributed to the government’s inability to provide a lasting solution to Nigeria’s energy poverty problem.

According to the argument of SE4All Action Agenda, 92 million people out of the over 200 million Nigerians lack adequate accessibility and affordability of electricity in the country. These further trickles down to an annual economic loss of over $26.2 billion which amount to 2% percent of the country’s GDP.

The Nigerian government’s adoption, investment and recognition of renewable energy can boost and reduce the level of energy poverty in the country. Effective hydrogen production in Nigeria can use solid waste from homes and industries. Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa with a population of over 200 million people from the last National population census and generating over 32 million tonnes of waste annually, can quickly produce a large amount of hydrogen through biogas. A projection of over 72 million tonnes of solid will be accounted for by 2025 due to the continuous increase in the population. The adoption, recognition and commercial production of hydrogen will pave the way for sustainable development of the Nigerian economy, significant reduction of greenhouse emissions, adequate accessibility and affordability of green energy, energy security, and, to mention a few.

The effective production of green hydrogen in Nigeria will make the country more economically viable and competitive among other African nations. It will further add and contribute to revenue generated through electricity supply between Nigeria and some other African nations such as Ghana, Togo, Niger, Cotonou, and to mention a few.

This hydrogen energy trajectory will contribute to increasing energy supply to households and support sustainable industrialisation if the Nigerian government creates the hydrogen energy policy infrastructure. Furthermore, the average Nigerian can carry out their day-in-day-out business activities. However, this article argues not for the Nigerian government to shut down the energy generated from fossil fuels but for renewable energy, such as hydrogen, to be adopted and recognised as one of the country’s primary energy successes.

In conclusion, green hydrogen can exist side-by-side with fossil fuels. Hydrogen adoption and recognition will further help the government meet its energy demands to the consumers. It will also further serve as a contributing factor in adding significant value to the economy at large. Nigeria can play an active role within the Sub-Saharan Africa by producing green hydrogen energy that supports the growth and development of the economy and the compelling accessibility and security of an environmentally friendly energy across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole.

The implementation of hydrogen as a panacea to energy poverty will further become a ripple effect solution to other major setback faced by Africa in modern times.
Dr Aluko, is of the School of Leadership and Business Management, Liverpool John Moores University| Oryx Universal College, Doha, Qatar.