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Africa's energy storage ambitions at the 6th E conference on storage solutions


May 26 2026


I thank the Africa Solar Industry Association for organising an online conference on energy storage technologies to meet Africa’s growing demand in the renewable energy sector. 

For the last 6 months I have been intensely networking with stakeholders in the African energy sector. In January I engaged with Damilola Ogunbiyi, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (UN SRSG) for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy  , Selwin Hart, Assistant Secretary General and Senior Advisor for Climate to the United Nations Secretary-General and the former president of Maldives Mr Mohamed Nasheed [1]

Later in February, at the Bharat Electricity summit, I had a chance once more to engage with representatives from African states seeking partners to help meet Africa's energy demand. 

Following this I attended several online discussions on making energy storage cheaper.   [2-4]

I have also written about the geopolitics of energy transition and, while I agree that developing nations are getting the short end of the stick, it has been my firm belief that as long as states view Renewable energy as an item on the marketing checklist it will remain an expensive PR stunt. But the real value of RE is its potential to create new industries and unleash a new wave of scientific & engineering innovation. 

Africa faces multiple challenges on this front. Foremost among them being access to capital. Africa is home to vast mineral wealth but to actualise the potential it needs access to both money & technology. Having neither put African states in a rather precarious position that would cause them to lose control of their own resources. Talks of neo-colonialism are not imaginary. The fear is grounded in reality. 

None of this is more apparent than in the actions of some leading institutions such as the world bank and IMF who blocked peaceful use of nuclear energy & set back the clean energy transition by decades. Their decisions were unscientific which can be seen in the sudden reversal of their policy as they now deem nuclear energy to be safe & a good investment!

What changed? Nothing except perhaps their mood. Their misdeeds have gone unscrutinised as developing nations continue to suffer from their shortsightedness. President von der Leyen even admitted neglecting nuclear to be a strategic mistake [6-8]

What does this mean for Africa? Only this: Africa needs to unhesitatingly build its own capacity across the entire energy ecosystem including oil and gas & invest the profits into research & development of renewable energy technologies. 

Particularly to storage technology, batteries of different flavours are all the rage: Li ion,Na Ion, flow batteries and many other chemistries. But their manufacturing technologies are closely guarded secrets that remain tangled up in a complex web of patents,know how and a skilled workforce.
Alternatives exist. Hydrogen and subsequently ammonia are good fuels with energy density far exceeding any battery. Concerns about round trip efficiency can be addressed with new thermodynamic cycles or Combined heat and power systems.  
It is possible to transfer fuel and generate electrical energy on source rather than transmitting electricity directly. High efficiency pipelines already transport fuel over thousands of Kms with 90% efficiency. [9]

Pursuing critical minerals to build power infrastructure that is fundamental to the economy could be a trap. Because it locks one in a cycle from which there is no escape. All that is achieved is substitution of oil with resources that are even harder to obtain,refine and build with. [10]

Options exist here as well. At High voltages even a material as cheap as steel could be used to transmit electrical energy. Iron nitride magnets could be manufactured as an alternative to Neodymium. Advancements in electrostatics could open up new ways of energy generation. 

Additionally ,while it's true that efficiency gains of electrical energy are high, in the broader picture it smooths out. Vast unproductive,untapped areas are prime for energy generation. Such as the Sahara in Africa. For renewable energy to make it big is imperative to figure out ways of improving generation. Supporting infrastructure around storage and transmission offers more flexibility but energy generation is highly demanding. 

African leaders can and should work towards deals that can enable manufacturing of batteries in Africa especially when they have vast resources of critical minerals as a bargaining chip. But if generation is strong then one can always substitute batteries with transport of hydrogen or ammonia via pipes to generate electrical energy on site. Simple,effective, doable. 

To actually enable renewable energy generation on such a gigantic scale innovation is absolutely necessary in materials science. The infrastructure that we build must last several decades. Must be based on cheap,easily accessible ,common materials and must be produced at low cost using technology that is either easily available or can be developed locally. Otherwise the energy industry becomes captive. That would be a catastrophe.  We are in the process of rebuilding our energy infrastructure. Let's get it right this time. 

References 

1 Geopolitics of climate tech 
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/01/geopolitics-of-climate-tech-notes-from.html

2 My thoughts on the green hydrogen India conference 
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-thoughts-on-green-hydrogen-india.html

3 Bankability in Long Duration Energy Storage: Beyond Energy Arbitrage
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/02/bankability-in-long-duration-energy.html

4 Breaking the Chicken-and-Egg Trap: LDES, Hydrogen, and the Future of Infrastructure
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/03/breaking-chicken-and-egg-trap-ldes.html

5 Pipes and the future of energy transport
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/03/pipes-and-future-of-energy-transport.html

6 World Bank ends ban on funding nuclear energy
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/world-bank-agrees-to-end-ban-on-funding-nuclear-energy

7 World Bank and Asian Development Bank Lift Longstanding Bans on Nuclear Energy
https://energyforgrowth.org/article/world-bank-and-asian-development-bank-lift-longstanding-bans-on-nuclear-to-expand-energy-options-for-emerging-markets/

8  Von der Leyen: It was strategic mistake to turn against nuclear
https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/von-der-leyen-it-was-strategic-mistake-to-turn-against-nuclear

9 Russia doubles oil pipeline transmission capacity to China
https://www.bofit.fi/en/monitoring/weekly/2018/vw201801_2/

10 Towards a resilient minerals and metals future for India at Minerals,Mining and Metals conclave by BCC&I
https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/2026/01/towards-resilient-minerals-and-metals.html

Do you care about international relations? Would you like to be a part of a non profit that seeks to foster international collaboration? Partner with us & use your skills in Science/Engineering/Research/Team Building/Consulting/Administration/Law/PR/Comms/Business to shape the future. Let's do this.

ABOUT bhū 

bhū is a self funded non profit organisation dedicated to advancement of science and promotion of international relations.
We aim to promote international harmony through creation of specific councils and bodies for regulating and overseeing international issues and accelerate developments in nanotechnology, material science ,electrostatics, fluids, plasma science,thermodynamics and advanced manufacturing.

Let us work together

https://akshatjiwannotes.blogspot.com/p/bhu.html

Akshat Jiwan Sharma

Materials science/International relations/Partnerships 

Mobile/whatsapp:+919654119771 

email:getellobed@gmail.com



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