Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc is establishing its first office in East Africa in response to rising demand for engines that generate electricity from renewable sources as well as power locomotives and ships.
According to John Kelly, the company’s president for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, the rationale for the UK engineering giant establishing a presence in the region is persuasive.
East African countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania have a combined population of over 174 million people and a 6.5% economic growth rate, he stated on the sidelines of an energy conference in Nairobi.
Rolls-Royce’s success in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, where its market share has doubled in the last three years, might be replicated in East Africa, he said.
He claimed the company is in negotiations with Kenya Railways Corp. about powering locomotives, but he did not elaborate. It will also focus on naval solutions and data centre power requirements, a rising sector in Kenya worth approximately $100 million over the next three years, he said.
East Africa is “ideal” for producing sustainable fuels since it has ready access to raw materials such as water for green hydrogen. He claims that Rolls-Royce engines can run on such fuels as hydrotreated vegetable oils.
Kenya now gets 80% of its energy from renewable sources like geothermal and wind. According to Kelly, Rolls-Royce is contemplating nuclear generating as a significant component of powering the planet.
“We want to be front and center in terms of providing those power solutions, both on the land, in terms of energy requirements, in the air, in terms of aviation,” Kelly said.
Rolls-Royce has offices in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, as well as a mining presence in Zambia and a local representation in Nigeria.
“It’s important for us to be in Africa, to understand Africa and to make sure that we optimize our solutions and our offerings for the market and its requirements,” Kelly said.
