THE AFRICA-EU-CHINA HYDROGEN INDUSTRY CYCLE
The European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) and the Institute for China-Europe Studies
(ICES) have the pleasure of inviting you to the Expert Discussion on ‘The Africa-EU-China
Hydrogen Industry Cycle’. The discussion will take place on Thursday, 26 October 2023 from
14:00 to 18:00 at EIAS, Rue de la Loi 26, Brussels.
We look forward to welcoming
you at this event.
To confirm your participation, please fill out this form before Tuesday, 24 October.
Date: Thursday 26 October 2023
Time: 14:00 – 18:00
Venue: EIAS, Rue de la Loi 26, Brussels
The Africa-EU-China Hydrogen Industry Cycle
Against the backdrop of the adoption of green hydrogen as a pivotal component of the global
race to carbon neutrality, industrialization, job creation and the broader commitment to
sustainability, this event in the format of a closed-door expert roundtable discussion will
highlight Africa’s significant potential for green hydrogen production. With the aim of
helping establish partnership models among public and private stakeholders from Africa, EU and
China, the discussion will focus on challenges and opportunities, as well as the required
resources and finances in the planning and implementation phases of related projects.
The event follows the European Union’s announcement in May 2022 of its objective to produce 20
million tons of green hydrogen by 2030 (including half to be imported), as well as the presentation
in November 2022 of a report commissioned by the European Investment Bank and CGLU Africa calling
for 50 million tons of green hydrogen to be produced in Africa by 2035. The roundtable discussion
precedes the COP 28 in Abu Dhabi where Africa, the EU and China will need to provide further commitments
on climate change policies while upholding the fight for common prosperity and poverty reduction.
There is now a strong case that the twin objective of decarbonization and
(re)industrialization of both Africa and Europe – and the expected benefits in terms of
economic development and mitigation of migrations – can be enabled by the combination of
hydrogen infrastructures and industrial hubs leveraging mass-scale competitive green hydrogen
supply from renewable-rich Africa, building on the Chinese industry’s considerable competitive
solar PV and electrolyzer capacity – and its stated intention to invest in such capacity in
both Africa and Europe.
The roundtable will feature two workshops respectively on
Resources & Production and on Industry & Finance. They will be composed of short presentations
by panel members, interactive exchanges between panel members and Q&A with participants.
Proceedings will be drafted as well as an agenda for further institutional action reflecting
consensus views emerging from the event.
Read more about the
EIB Study on Africa’s Green Hydrogen Potential.
Agenda
Hakima El Haite, former Minister of Environment of Morocco, UN Adviser for Zero Waste
Christian Weinberger, Former Senior Advisor to the Director General for Energy, European Commission
Presentation of the EIB-sponsored study on Africa’s Extraordinary Green Hydrogen Potential
Matthieu Crest, Partner, Corporate Value Associates
Thierry Lepercq, President, HyDeal
Africa’s hydrogen resources and plans: government strategies on mass-scale green hydrogen as a key to energy security and industrialization, production and infrastructure projects developed by energy firms.
Moundir Zniber, CEO, Gaia Energy
Gabrielle Gauthey, Senior Vice-President for European Public Affairs, TotalEnergies
Wim Damme, Head of Hydrogen & Ammonia Trading, Envision
Moderated by: Lin Goethals, Director, EIAS
Construction, engineering and financing of mass-scale competitive green hydrogen: technology and equipment (solar photovoltaics, wind, electrolysis), engineering and construction, debt and equity financing and the pathway fossil fuel parity.
Mohamed El Hamed, Senior Advisor to the President of BNM, Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Hugues Seutin, Director, Hyfinity, Vinci Construction
Christopher Tan, Vice-President, Power China Eurasia
Moderated by: Thierry Lepercq, President, HyDeal
Thierry Lepercq, President, HyDeal