Energy

AI data centres to drive Africa’s power demand

Data centres are driving energy demand globally. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

AI is set to drive surging electricity demand from data centres, currently being rolled out in number across Africa, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA)

It poses a significant potential challenge for energy providers in sub-Saharan Africa, with the continent already lagging far behind other regions in terms of spare power capacity.

The IEA projects that electricity demand from data centres worldwide is set to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh), almost as much electricity as the whole of Japan uses today.

“AI is one of the biggest stories in the energy world today – but until now, policy makers and markets lacked the tools to fully understand the wide-ranging impacts,” said IEA executive director Fatih Birol, launching a new report.

The rise in global electricity demand is likely to put pressure not only on Africa’s scarce power resources, but even more so in developed regions.

“The effects will be particularly strong in some countries. For example, in the United States, data centres are on course to account for almost half of the growth in electricity demand; in Japan, more than half; and in Malaysia, as much as one-fifth.”

The report notes that Africa has the lowest energy consumption at less than 1 kWh of data centre electricity consumption per capita in 2024, rising to slightly less than 2 kWh per capita by the end of the decade.

However, there are strong differences within the region, with South Africa showing strong growth and per-capita consumption more than 15 times larger than the continental average in 2030, with an intensity higher than 25 kWh per capita.

Moreover, despite the strong increase, data centre electricity demand growth still accounts for less than 10 per cent of global electricity demand growth between 2024 and 2030, the IEA notes.

Other key drivers, such as industry output growth and electrification, the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs), and the adoption of air conditioning, lead the way.

However, it notes, while the absolute growth may appear smaller, data centres, unlike EVs, tend to concentrate in specific locations, making their integration into the grid potentially more challenging.

A diverse range of energy sources will be tapped to meet data centres’ rising electricity needs, according to the report – though renewables and natural gas are set to take the lead due to their cost-competitiveness and availability in key markets.

Across all cases, renewables play a pivotal role in meeting the growing electricity demand, the report notes, however, fossil fuels remain important for meeting the near-term surge in demand up to 2030.

The long-term growth of renewables to meet rising AI and data centre demand could put pressure on the resources needed to complete new clean projects, especially as more developed regions race to build additional capacity.

A major consideration related to the rapid growth of AI and data centres is the demand for critical minerals, the report notes.

Apart from bulk materials like steel and concrete, the construction of data centres requires sizeable amounts of several minerals and metals, such as copper, aluminium, silicon, gallium, rare earth elements and battery minerals.

Here, Africa might also face the task of shoring up its own supply chains, rather than as a supplier of raw materials and commodities to the rest of the world.

“Securing the supply of affordable and reliable power for data centres is at the heart of the challenge of energy for AI,” the report notes.

“In particular, the growing expansion of AI data centres has amplified the urgency of addressing power equipment supply chain constraints.”

Countries that want to benefit from the potential of AI, the report adds, need to quickly accelerate new investments in electricity generation and grids, improve the efficiency and flexibility of data centres, and strengthen the dialogue between policy makers, the tech sector and the energy industry.

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Hydropower surge sparks new copper phase at Kamoa-Kakula

Ivanhoe Mines announces major boost in hydropower for Kamoa-Kakula. (Image source: Ivanhoe Mines)

Ivanhoe Mines reported that Kamoa-Kakula has entered a new phase of growth, marked by the successful startup of its on-site copper smelter

This milestone was made possible by a recent increase in imported hydroelectric power, which rose by 20MW to 70MW in mid-March and is set to reach 100MW in the coming days—doubling recent supply. With this added power, the project delivered record copper production in the last two weeks of March, exceeding its 2025 annualised guidance. This strong performance was also supported by the Phase 3 concentrator, which achieved record throughput and surpassed its design capacity.

“Despite recent volatility in global markets and with virtually all global equities knocked down by panic … and computerised trading algorithms … Ivanhoe Mines has a very strong balance sheet and generates powerful cash flows … In addition, we are in a privileged position with Kamoa-Kakula as one of the lowest-cost copper producers in our industry… and we expect our operating costs to decline even further as our state-of-the-art direct-to-blister smelter ramps up this year… The production of 99.7% pure copper anodes will significantly reduce our C1 cash costs due to a more than 50% reduction in transportation costs per unit of contained copper and the enjoyment of by-product sulphuric acid sales … a critical commodity in great demand in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s copper industry,” said Robert Friedland, Ivanhoe Mines’ founder and executive co-chairman.

“We are delighted that Kamoa-Kakula’s growing pains, which led to power challenges, are behind us following our successful efforts to secure additional imported hydroelectricity … with more imported hydroelectric power from the Southern Africa Power Pool on its way very soon. We now have in place a long-term energy security program that future-proofs our energy mix as we continue to grow into the very top ranks of the world’s largest copper production complexes,” added Marna Cloete, president and CEO of Ivanhoe Mines.

“We are therefore sufficiently encouraged to inaugurate the startup of our state-of-the-art Kamoa-Kakula smelter… one of the largest and most technologically sophisticated smelters in the world. With the smelter coming online, we will no longer simply be exporting copper concentrate – we will export the world’s greenest copper anodes for the energy transition. As the world wakes up to a generational copper deficit, we have the assets, the people, and the infrastructure to deliver this responsibly sourced and most critical of all metals to world markets,” Friedland concluded.

Also read: Ivanhoe Mines expands exploration footprint with new Zambian licences

TotalEnergies completes SN Power acquisition

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TotalEnergies has completed the acquisition of SN Power, collecting with it various hydropower assets in Africa, notably in Uganda with Bujagali Falls. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

TotalEnergies has completed the acquisition of SN Power, collecting with it various hydropower assets in Africa, notably in Uganda

The portfolio includes a 28.3% stake in Uganda’s 225 MW Bujagali hydropower plant.

“The acquisition of SN Power will allow TotalEnergies to implement its multi-energy strategy in Uganda, where the company is already active in (oil and gas) exploration and production,” it said in a statement.

The Bujagali plant currently meets more than 25% of Uganda’s peak electricity demand.

The acquisition of SN Power also gives TotalEnergies a stake in two other projects under development in Rwanda (206 MW) and Malawi (360 MW).

SN Power was a 100% subsidiary of Scatec, a Norwegian renewable energy company, with interests in renewable hydropower projects in Africa through a joint venture (51% SN Power) alongside Norfund and British International Investment.

Through the deal, TotalEnergies also acquires a team of hydropower development experts, strengthening its competencies in the field.

At the time of the original SN Power announcement, in June 2024, TotalEnergies had interests in hydropower projects worldwide with a gross capacity of 3.7 GW, including 1.5 GW under development in Mozambique with the Mphanda Nkuwa scheme.

Separately, it also closed the acquisition of VSB Group, a European wind and solar developer with extensive operations in Germany, and announced new deals with renewables developer RES, with a view to acquiring renewables projects in Canada.

“The completion of these three acquisitions — in Europe, North America and Africa — will contribute to our targets of 35 GW of gross renewable capacity by 2025 and over 100 TWh of electricity production by 2030,” said Stéphane Michel, president, gas, renewables and power at TotalEnergies.

“These acquisitions strengthen our operations in markets where we are deploying our Integrated Power business, like Germany and in North America, and in countries, such as Uganda, where we can leverage synergies with our exploration and production activities.

“Furthermore, these acquisitions will contribute to cash flow growth and to our goal of reaching our 12% profitability target in the electricity segment.”

Kamoa Copper and CrossBoundary Energy partner for renewable mining power

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Kamoa Copper and CrossBoundary Energy partner to provide baseload renewable power to the Kamoa-Kakula copper mine in DRC. (Image source: CrossBoundary Energy)

Kamoa Copper S.A. and CrossBoundary Energy have entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply renewable baseload energy to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper mining complex, one of the largest copper mines globally, located near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Kamoa Copper S.A. joint venture, composed of Ivanhoe Mines, Zijin Mining Group, and the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (which holds a 20% stake), operates Africa’s largest copper mining complex, with an annual copper production capacity of approximately 600,000 tonnes. The new on-site direct-to-blister copper smelter is slated to begin operations in Q2 2025.

The solar project, Africa’s first of its kind, will feature a 222 MWp solar PV system alongside a 123 MVA/526 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The plant will provide a 30 MW renewable energy supply to the mine, displacing fuel-powered generators and cutting carbon emissions by about 78,750 tonnes annually. CrossBoundary Energy will own and manage the plant, with Kamoa Copper purchasing the energy used. It is expected to produce around 300,000 MWh of clean energy annually.

While many mining operations have integrated solar PV and BESS systems, providing baseload renewable energy—a consistent power output at all times—is uncommon due to concerns over intermittency. However, with advancements in solar PV efficiency and declining BESS costs, a renewable baseload system has become feasible and is now more cost-effective than the diesel generators previously used at the mine.

"This is a pivotal moment for Kamoa Copper and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As a company, Kamoa Copper has been setting innovative benchmarks in various domains, and with this partnership on baseload renewable energy, we will continue to do so. We are pleased to have CrossBoundary Energy as our first partner in this endeavor. Their commitment to honesty, integrity, and delivery is exemplary. We anticipate hard work and successful outcomes from this project. From Kamoa Copper's side, we are committed to providing unwavering support to ensure our suppliers' success, as we demand excellence in all our collaborations," stated Annebel Oosthuizen, managing director of Kamoa Copper.

"The solar project is a key milestone in delivering clean, reliable energy to Kamoa Copper. With advanced solar and battery systems, we’re boosting energy resilience, cutting emissions, and advancing sustainable mining. We commend CrossBoundary Energy for their professionalism and technical expertise," remarked Auguy Bakome, project manager at Kamoa Copper.

"Africa’s most significant hindrance to growth and investment is access to reliable and affordable power. Projects like these prove that distributed clean energy can now provide cheaper baseload power, even for heavy industry. We congratulate the Kamoa Copper S.A. team for this project, which will advance the whole sector," concluded Matthew Tilleard, managing partner at CrossBoundary Energy.

Also read: Ivanhoe Mines reshape DRC’s copper and zinc future

SEW-EURODRIVE champions energy efficiency across sectors

SEW IE3 electric motors offer energy savings in the beverage industry. (Image source: SEW-EURODRIVE)

South Africa’s adoption of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) mandates that all newly imported electric motors meet IE3 premium efficiency levels

SEW-EURODRIVE, however, has long been ahead of this curve, having standardised on IE3 motors more than eight years ago. The company’s commitment to sustainability ensured that its customers transitioned to the advanced technology without bearing additional costs.

Willem Strydom, business development electronics manager at SEW-EURODRIVE South Africa, highlights that several industry sectors have been proactive in shifting towards energy efficiency. Rising electricity prices have driven industry to adopt IE3 motors, with SEW-EURODRIVE estimating that these motors consume 7% to 8% less energy compared to IE1 models. Strydom says that when paired with Variable Speed Drives (VSDs), energy savings can reach up to 15%.

“Energy efficiency not only reduces operational costs but also aligns with companies’ decarbonisation goals,” said Strydom. “As most electricity in South Africa still comes from coal, reducing consumption directly lowers carbon footprints.”

SEW-EURODRIVE supports its customers by conducting on-site energy assessments and product population surveys at no cost. “These evaluations identify inefficiencies, helping companies to plan their transition to IE3 motors strategically and cost-effectively. The data collected also provides early warnings about potential equipment failures, reducing downtime risks,” remarked Strydom.

To further ease the shift, SEW-EURODRIVE advises customers to prioritise upgrades in motor classes with lower stock levels and balance replacements between larger and smaller motors for maximum impact. VSDs are often recommended to manage peak energy demands, reducing penalties and extending motor lifespans.

Looking ahead, Strydom believes MEPS will accelerate the adoption of even higher efficiency standards, paving the way for IE4 and IE5 motors. SEW-EURODRIVE is already leading this innovation with its IE5 synchronous motors, which feature integrated permanent magnet technology and deliver up to 50% lower energy losses compared to IE3 models.

“SEW-EURODRIVE’s commitment to advancing energy efficiency is backed by our 300-strong global research and development team,” commented Strydom. “We are already pioneering IE6 technology, setting new benchmarks in sustainability and performance.”

With its forward-thinking approach and robust customer support, SEW-EURODRIVE continues to drive energy efficiency advancements in South Africa, helping industries meet sustainability and cost-saving goals.