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Africa is inextricably linked to the global decarbonising future, but the cycle must be broken that has defined this transition for eons: exporting unprocessed lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, phosphates and graphite while importing finished batteries at a premium. The Lithium-Ion Battery Value Chain is brutally clear. Mining captures just $11 billion, while value-added segments and end-user markets i.e. Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Battery energy storage systems (BESS) send a minimum $7 trillion beyond the continent’s shores.

The IEA’s 2026 Hydrogen Review finds the continent’s most advanced project targeting engineering design in the third quarter of this year and a final decision in 2027. Two of the largest developments have stalled for want of buyers, while the cost of capital does more to decide outcomes than sunshine does.

Kinshasa’s council of ministers cleared the Lualaba site in February, targeting $2bn of private capital across 900 hectares. Zimbabwe has built the continent’s first lithium sulphate plant under an export ban. The cathode and cell stages that carry most of the margin remain unbuilt everywhere on the continent.