As the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) drew to a close on 12 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Huawei looks back at the role of energy digitalisation in driving the energy revolution to build a better, more environmentally friendly future. This ambition is realised through the activities of Huawei Digital Power Technologies founded in June 2021. In the Northern Africa region (North, West and Central Africa), where there is considerable solar potential, the business has been chaired since July 2023 by Philippe Wang, who also holds the position of Executive Vice President of Huawei Northern Africa. In an interview with AFRIK 21, he talks about Huawei Digital Power's commitment to building a greener Africa.
[PARTNER INTERVIEW] AFRIK21: You were appointed President of the Digital Power business for the Northern Africa region in July this year. What is your roadmap for the next few years?
Philippe Wang: We are at the dawn of a new era of digital energy, fully integrated into the digital world, and this new paradigm sums up the mission of Digital Power, which I will be leading over the next few years for the Northern Africa region. My 7 years of experience on the African continent have enabled me to understand the specific challenges of the geographies in which I have operated and to appreciate the specific needs of our local customers. This mandate involves taking on new challenges to accelerate Africa’s energy revolution and promote sustainable economic and technological growth. Among other things, we aim to build a greener Africa by means of several levers: clean energy production, energy digitalisation, electrification of mobility, green ICT energy infrastructure and integrated intelligent energy.
Despite a solar potential of 7,900 GW and an average of eight hours of sunshine a day, energy distribution remains too heterogeneous. In 2023, while almost 100% of the population in North Africa had access to electricity, this proportion was only 56% in West Africa. There is an urgent need to address this energy deficit in the region by drawing on the continent’s immense renewable potential, which is estimated to be 1,000 times greater than the electricity demand forecast for 2040[1].
You say you want to build a greener Africa? What does this mean for Huawei Digital Power and how do you intend to achieve it?
Our real strength at Huawei is the integration of our expertise in information and communication technologies (ICT) and power electronics to connect energy products. For several years now, Africa’s technological boom has led to an increase in carbon emissions. This is undeniable, and we realized this very early on at Huawei. Leveraging our experience on the continent, it is unimaginable for us to pursue technological progress without environmental considerations. That’s why we’ve been developing expertise in green ICT for a long time. The entire industry must be able to join us in this radical change of approach.
Digital Power’s activities respond to two major challenges: improving energy efficiency and promoting access to electricity on a continent where 600 million people are still deprived of it. We have chosen to solve this equation with a very specific approach that involves providing more bits with fewer watts and fewer carbon emissions. We have developed the concept of 4T convergence – BiT, WaTt, HeaT[2] and BaTtery[3]. It integrates digital technologies and power electronics, the flow of information and energy on the technology, the product and the solution. This set of tools enables us to deliver ‘safe, efficient, green and smart’ solutions to our customers and provide an optimised user experience.
Huawei Digital Power Technologies was founded in June 2021 to accelerate the digitalisation of energy and the decarbonisation of economies. Two years on, what progress has been made in this area?
In 2021, Huawei formalised the activities of Digital Power Technologies. Since then, everything has accelerated at great speed in every region of the world. We now operate 12 R&D centres and hold more than 1,700 patents (end 2022). Today, Digital Power has nearly 10,000 employees serving more than 3 billion people in over 170 countries and regions.
By the end of June 2023, Huawei Digital Power has already contributed to generating 845.5 billion kWh of green energy, saving 35.5 billion kWh of electricity through its solutions and reducing CO2[4] emissions by 400 million tonnes.
On the ground, you can already see a number of revolutionary projects around the world, which will gradually be adapted to the Northern Africa region. Some are already up and running, reflecting our ambition in the region to make solar power the main source of energy. In Benin, for example, we have been involved in a project to build a solar power station, known as “Defissol”, with a capacity to generate 35 GWh of electricity a year for the benefit of 180,000 people. This project will save the country 23,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year (or 575,000 tonnes over the estimated 25-year lifespan of the site).
African countries made strong commitments at COP28, and financial institutions followed suit with significant investment pledges. How will Huawei support this movement?
More than 20 African countries have backed the global call to triple renewable energy capacity and double energy efficiency by 2030[5]. The 4.5 billion investment pledged by the United Arab Emirates will support the continent in achieving this goal. This is encouraging, and we are ready to support these ambitions to guarantee universal access to clean energy at an affordable cost for as many people as possible, utilizing digital technology. As Charles Yang, Senior Vice President of Huawei and President, Global Marketing, Sales & Services of Huawei Digital Power, highlighted at COP28 during a session of the Global Innovation Hub, we are helping to build innovative systems through technological progress, to achieve the common goal of carbon neutrality.
The continent has many assets to realize this ambition a reality, including its inestimable potential in terms of renewable energies, particularly solar energy. With more than 40% of the world’s solar energy resources, it is estimated that solar energy will account for more than 20% of all electricity generated in Africa by 2030. Against this backdrop, we are offering a whole range of “Huawei FusionSolar” solutions, tailored to the different scenarios for harnessing this resource.
How are your activities working alongside those of local players to ensure a successful transition to renewable energies in the region?
Our actions are complementary and revolutionary. The energy and digital industries are a dense and complex playing field, where everyone makes their own contribution to building solutions for the future. Collaboration with our industrial partners has always been crucial in our company to ensure a competitive and sustainable environment – Digital Power is no exception to the rule. The synergy between two seemingly different worlds is intentional. The commercial and service partnerships we enter into are essential to our collective success. They enable us to provide our customers with quality solutions that are perfectly tailored to their needs.
These partnerships represent a win-win relationship, where we also contribute to strengthening local industry by combining our expertise, raising quality standards and supporting industrial policies. We respect the highest safety standards in our activities, and our partners know it. Additionally, we promote these technical standards within our ecosystem. This year, for example, the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity adopted the “AFCI”[6] standards under the impetus of the work of Huawei experts and with their support. These standards set the highest safety requirements for photovoltaic products.
How do you see the current climate crisis and Huawei’s energy ambitions in Africa in this context?
At the forefront I am fortunate to be on the front line of the impressive evolution of Africa’s digital and energy industries. My observations lead me to remain very optimistic about the positive impact of digital transformation on reversing the climate trend. Over the past two decades, Huawei has worked closely with its partners to expand connectivity in Africa. My work today is focused on one clear goal: to bring clean energy to every person, household and organisation, lighting up Africa through digital energy technologies.
I hope that over the next two decades we will continue to invest with the same intensity in innovation, research and development, with the sole aim of making digital energy the key driver in achieving the sustainable development goals to ensure the well-being of people and societies across the continent.
[1] La transition vers les énergies renouvelables en Afrique – Renforcer l’accès, la résilience et la prospérité, International Renewable Energy Agency, 2021
[2] Heat – heat management technology
[3] Battery – energy storage management technology
[4] Equivalent to 540 million trees planted – Estimate based on data published by the North Carolina State University website on the relationship between carbon emissions and tree numbers.
[5] Afrique subsaharienne : 1 000 personnes seront formées au Digital Power, 20/09/2022
[6] Manufacturing, trading and intermediation authorisation
