Enhancing Energy Security in Southern Africa: Check Out Our SteamBioAfrica Project Publications

Bush encroachment is a major environmental challenge in Southern Africa, especially in savanna and arid regions in countries like Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa. The expansion of dense woody vegetation disrupts ecosystems, reducing biodiversity, depleting groundwater reserves, and degrading soil. Moreover, its impact undermines food and water security for surrounding communities.

For many landowners and farmers in Southern Africa the efforts to handle such biomass on their own are too costly and by far outweigh immediate gains. As part of the SteamBioAfrica project, an EU-Africa industry-research partnership was launched to tackle bush encroachment by transforming bush biomass into solid biofuel and water as well as address climate change, unemployment, and land management challenges.

Among the various bioenergy sources available in Africa, solid biofuels contribute to over 47% of total bioenergy supply. In Sub-Saharan Africa, solid biofuels play an even larger role and contribute to over 60% of the total bioenergy supply. SteamBioAfrica aimed at tapping into this potential by creating pathways that could lead to environmental as well as socio-economic benefits.

As part of the project, a pilot energy plant was installed in Otjiwarongo, Namibia to showcase how a superheated steam technology can make it possible to turn unwanted biomass into clean biofuel. Together with partners and local stakeholders, the project also worked on exploring business opportunities for the commercialisation of the product, both for industrial as well as household use.

At the business-to-business level, the project targeted potential buyers in the local biomass markets who could diversify their revenue streams by selling the solid biofuel as a clean alternative to charcoal and firewood. At the business-to-consumer level, the project launched a market and sales trial in Windhoek, Namibia, and Gaborone, Botswana to get feedback from both sellers and household consumers on how to further improve the solid biofuel.

The CSCP was particularly focused on the development of sustainable value chains that enabled the integration of women and youth-led enterprises and in tackling energy poverty in both urban as well as rural areas. The SteamBioAfrica report on value chains offers insights into the biomass (charcoal, firewood) market and value chains in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

The CSCP also designed and implemented targeted training activities to enable skills and competences that ensure the long-term viability of the biofuel as well as supported policymakers to tap into the opportunities rising from solid biofuel and find pathways to ensuring energy security. A report on policy recommendations offers further details on this topic.

The SteamBioAfrica project was part of the Research and Innovation Programme EU Horizon 2020 and it was carried out from 2021 until 2024.

For further questions, please contact Kartika Anggraeni.