Permanent Secretary Of Zambia’s Trade Ministry Calls For Investment In Zambia’s Green Hydrogen Sector
Ministry of Commerce, Trade, and Industry Permanent Secretary Mr. Crusivia Hichikumba says the government wants to leverage on copper mining in order to achieve stronger development outcomes.
Speaking at the recent Sustainability Conference that was held in the Germany city of Hamburg, Mr Hichikumba said beneficiation of value addition of the copper mineral resource has been very limited, yet the country is heavily dependent on copper mining.
Zambia Target 3 Million Tonnes Of Copper Production
Mr Hichikumba said the government aims to increase activities clustered around the copper resources and stressed that he was optimistic that the 3 million tonnes of copper target that the government aims to achieve by 2031 will be attained.
Mr Hichikumba said the goals of the United Nations framework convention on climate change presents Zambia a new opportunity to leverage some of its national resources for climate change adaptation and mitigation.
He said Zambia is also looking to benefit from the shift in mobility from dependency on fossil dependant transport systems to electrical dependant transport innovations adding that it is in this regard that Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed an agreement in 2022 to establish special economic zones for the production of electric vehicle battery precursors and batteries with the support of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Africa Export and Import Bank.
“This joint initiative presents Zambia with an opportunity to effectively harness its strategic battery mineral resources to break the vicious circle stemming from the excessive dependency on the export of natural resources by creating more value, strengthening production capacities and enhancing exports,” Mr Hichikumba said.
He stressed that the vision is to create a competitive electric vehicle battery and critical raw materials value chain for sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Mr Hichikumba pointed out that Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have most of the requisite raw materials for electric vehicles and further invited investors from Germany to join in this value chain.
Investment In Zambia’s Green Hydrogen Sector
And Mr Hichikumba said following the devastating drought that Zambia experienced during the last rain season, the country’s hydro dependent electricity generation has greatly reduced hence the need to look at other sources of electricity such as green hydrogen which he said Zambia has capacity to produce. He called on Germany and Serbian investors to set up green hydrogen production facilities in Zambia.
The Hamburg 2024 Sustainability Conference attracted participants from across the globe and Zambia’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany Her Excellency Winnie Natala Chibesakunda represented His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema.
