As of the world’s top producers of many critical minerals, Africa is gearing up for its role in powering global energy transition. Its vast critical mineral store, including cobalt, copper, bauxite, chromium, high purity iron ore, platinum group metals, lithium and rare earth metals, is in high demand globally. For Africa, the focus now is on the sustainable growth of its mineral mining operations and production facilities, so that the gains from its natural resources can be of benefit to the continent and its people.

Baker McKenzie’s Global Guide to Critical Minerals examines the status and strategic legal background for critical minerals across a number key mining jurisdictions, as well as the applicable legal and regulatory framework for their extraction, highlighting the rapid change in the critical minerals space as the energy transition accelerates.

An increasing number of countries have been unveiling their detailed legislative frameworks and extensive state support packages aimed at developing the hydrogen market in the context of the race to net zero. The US is not a new participant in this race. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated USD 9.5 billion for clean hydrogen. The Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August 2022 provided additional policies and incentives for the development of the hydrogen market, including a production tax credit, which is aimed at boosting the US market for clean hydrogen. However, the US Department of Energy’s publication of a draft Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap (CHSR) takes the US government’s level of commitment to clean energy to the next level, as well as showing its willingness to work with existing and potential hydrogen market participants and other stakeholders to develop a framework that really works. This article examines the key provisions of the CHSR.

To support the development of clean hydrogen technology as part of a national energy strategy, the Infrastructure Act includes multiple amendments, modifications, and additions to existing statutory provisions.