Prospects for development and integration of African battery value chains

The document analyzes the potential for African nations to move beyond the "pit to port" model of mineral extraction by building integrated battery mineral value chains. It highlights Africa's significant reserves of cobalt, manganese, graphite, and vanadium, and examines the macroeconomic shift from fossil fuel revenues to transition mineral revenues. The paper identifies Morocco as a leader in integrating automotive assembly with battery material production and discusses the potential for South Africa to act as a regional integrator. It concludes that while a continent-wide strategy is unlikely, sub-regional strategies and national policy instruments—such as strategic non-alignment and targeted industrial policies for e-mobility—can help African countries capture more value from their mineral endowments.

• African countries possess substantial global reserves of critical battery minerals, including 71% of global cobalt reserves, 42% of manganese, 22% of graphite, and 13% of vanadium.
• The transition from fossil fuels to critical minerals will cause a major macroeconomic shift for sub-Saharan Africa; while fossil fuel export revenues are projected to drop from USD 3.523 trillion (1999-2022) to USD 625 billion (2024-50), revenues from copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium are expected to rise from USD 297 billion to USD 1.934 trillion over the same periods.
• Morocco is currently the most advanced African nation in integrating its battery mineral and electric vehicle (EV) value chain, leveraging its phosphate reserves and automotive assembly capabilities to target EU and US markets.

APA

Zalk, N. (2024). Prospects for development and integration of African battery value chains. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/prospects-for-development-and-integration-of-african-battery-value-chains

Chicago

Zalk, Nimrod. Prospects for development and integration of African battery value chains. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2024. https://afripoli.org/prospects-for-development-and-integration-of-african-battery-value-chains.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Zalk |first1=Nimrod |title=Prospects for development and integration of African battery value chains |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=16 September 2024 |url=https://afripoli.org/prospects-for-development-and-integration-of-african-battery-value-chains |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{zalk2024prospects, author = {Zalk, Nimrod}, title = {{Prospects for development and integration of African battery value chains}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://afripoli.org/prospects-for-development-and-integration-of-african-battery-value-chains}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }