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President Tshisekedi’s successes in outflanking his powerful predecessor Joseph Kabila gives hope that a more inclusive economic recovery is possible. But while investors look again at opportunities around the vast country, and the president has high hopes for mega solar schemes and Grand Inga, DRC remains problematic, write Jon Marks and François Misser.

While DRC locals wait for access to sustainable energy, the government is getting excited about massive Inga dam developments which in the past have attracted attention to the detriment of smaller schemes. After President Félix Tshisekedi took the African Union (AU) revolving presidency on 6 February, a European analyst commented it was “an open secret that he will be trying to use this position to seek support for the Inga III project, and beyond that for the Great Inga projects.”

Energie des Grands Lacs (EGL) is set to launch studies for the development of the Ruzizi IV regional hydropower plant  on the Ruzizi River, which forms the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The international organisation formed under the auspices of the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries has issued a general procurement notice for consulting services to study the technical, economic, financial and institutional feasibility of the 287MW run-of-river project as well as assess the environmental, social and climate change impacts and determine appropriate mitigation measures.

President Denis Sassou Nguesso confirmed on 23 January that he would seek a fourth consecutive mandate when elections are held on 21 March. The 77-year-old president will again stand as candidate of the ruling Parti Congolais du Travail. Before then Sassou is hoping for progress with Brazzaville’s International Monetary Fund-led debt restructuring, agreed in 2019 but still incomplete.

Australian junior miner AVZ Minerals on 21 January said its $500m-plus green lithium mine project at Manono would be fully supplied by the Piana Mwanga hydroelectric plant – once it has been refurbished – and would aim to achieve a number of other sustainability goals. Analysts said AVZ’s investor call, which focused on sustainability issues following a greenhouse gas assessment at the Manono lithium and tin project by Environmental Resource Management, produced an uptick in its share price as it focused on the project “as potentially having one of the lowest carbon footprints of any lithium mine across the globe”.

The most abundant element on earth, hydrogen, already has industrial uses, but it could do much more to transform the global energy mix as industrialised economies and the global south decarbonise. Judged by the welter of governmental and corporate statements, hydrogen is featuring large in the thoughts of planners and project promoters. These range from Chinese hydrocarbons giant Sinopec’s plans to reallocate some of its Rmb87bn ($13bn) cash pile to projects “all along the hydrogen chain” to Australian junior miner AVZ Minerals’ green lithium mine project at Manono in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Plans are moving ahead for a new refinery to be built in Pointe-Noire’s special economic zone (SEZ), according to hydrocarbons minister Jean-Marc Thystère Tchicaya, following an agreement signed with a Chinese company identified as Beijing Fortune Dingheng Investment. Ministry of Hydrocarbons downstream projects adviser Alphonse Obami said: “According to our estimates, it is very probable that the work on this second refinery will start in Q1 2021.”

Ruzizi III Energy invites prequalification bids by 15 February 2021 for the engineering, procurement and construction of the Ruzizi III regional hydropower project on the border between Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

Gridworks hopes its recently awarded concessions in DRC will demonstrate the case for larger-scale isolated grids in Africa. The company says the project offers the size and critical mass that is missing from most mini-grid models, which it hopes will create efficiencies and reduce costs, writes Dan Marks.

CGG has signed an agreement with Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo and the Ministry of Hydrocarbons to acquire the industry’s first-ever multi-client airborne gravity and magnetic survey of the onshore Cuvette Basin. The government hopes to attract new investment following the Ngoki discovery last year.

Nigeria is proving to be a testing ground for trucking gas on African roads, while Circle Gas’s LPG-based cooking solution is building up a consumer base in Kenya and Tanzania. Africa remains a frontier market for ‘virtual pipelines’ and other innovative uses for gas, but business models are evolving to create some vibrant new industries, writes Jon Marks.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Electricity has launched a two-stage tender for the selection of a private sector developer to build and operate under a long-term concession a 100MW-150MW hydropower station on the Nzilo 2 site on the Lualaba River.

A consortium led by CDC Group’s Gridworks announced on 26 November that it had been selected as preferred bidder for the Essor Access to Electricity (A2E) Initiative in Democratic Republic of Congo. Gridworks has partnered with Eranove and AEE Power for the project.

Parliament’s Environment, Tourism, Natural Resources and Development Committee has given its support to the 166MW Sombwe hydropower project being developed by Congolese company Kipay Investments in Upper Katanga province. The $500m project is being developed on the Lufira River, 30km downstream of the Kiubo Falls, 300km north of Kolwezi, to help to reduce a supply/demand gap in the Katanga region estimated at 1,000MW, including 270MW for Ivanhoe Mines. It will include a solar plant to be built by Kipay near the Fungurume substation to ensure uninterrupted supply.

Société Nationale d’Electricité (Snel) says the Inga I and II hydropower plants could be restored to 90% capacity by year-end following turbine rehabilitation work. The 351MW capacity of Inga I was fully restored in mid-November following repairs to the G16 turbine which broke down in early October, cutting supply to Matadi, Boma, Muanda and Tshela in Kongo Central province. News reports quoted the plant’s interim manager, Serge Mbiyavanga, as saying a short-circuit had damaged the 58.5MW turbine.