NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of African Energy Chamber: Russia-Africa energy cooperation expands across nuclear, gas and renewables

NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, has said that cooperation between Russia and African countries is expanding across a wide range of energy sectors, including nuclear power, natural gas and renewable energy, with a strong focus on addressing energy poverty and supporting skills development.

He made the statement in an exclusive interview at the TV BRICS studio in the Roscongress International Cooperation Area at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum ( SPIEF).

According to Ayuk, collaboration with Russian companies and institutions is already underway in several strategic areas, including engagement with Rosatom on the peaceful use of nuclear energy. NJ Ayuk stressed that energy cooperation is closely linked to broader development goals, including training, capacity-building and empowering local populations across Africa.

The African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman also pointed to growing opportunities in gas development, renewable energy projects and power plant construction, emphasising that Russian technological expertise could play an important role in supporting Africa’s energy transition.

“Russia has a deep reservoir of technological expertise and knowledge, and we are working with Russian companies to help bring these capabilities to Africa,” he said.

Turning to the broader energy transition, Ayuk underlined that Africa’s future energy mix will combine traditional and new energy sources, including gas, oil, solar, wind and emerging technologies such as hydrogen.

"New energy sources will certainly become an important part of our future energy systems. At the same time, we must continue using existing resources such as gas, oil and coal to power Africa while rapidly embracing renewable energy sources," he stated.

He also highlighted the importance of learning from other BRICS partners, noting that India has advanced in clean cooking solutions and China has become a global leader in solar power, energy storage and battery technologies.

Ayuk stressed that BRICS cooperation as a whole offers significant opportunities for economic growth, trade expansion and infrastructure development.

“Together, BRICS represents an enormous economic and demographic force. This creates tremendous opportunities for trade among BRICS nations, for developing improved payment systems and for cooperation on renewable energy technologies. Through this cooperation, Africa can become economically stronger and more sustainable,” highlighted NJ Ayuk.

According to Ayuk, enhanced cooperation within the group can help transform demographic scale into economic power while accelerating access to electricity and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.