Rabat – Africa is home to some of the world’s richest farmlands, with agriculture playing a major role in the economy and the lives of millions. The continent produces a wide range of crops and food products, making it a global agriculture powerhouse.
Yet, this impressive output is being undermined by a staggering food waste challenge that could otherwise be used to support economic growth. Every year, nearly one-third of Africa’s agricultural output is lost or wasted. The issue is even more acute in sub-Saharan Africa, with a 37% rate of food waste.
This waste diminishes the potential of Africa’s agricultural bounty and represents a missed opportunity for innovation and sustainability, waste that could otherwise be transformed into a valuable resource.
One such promising breakthrough is the use of biomass waste to produce hard carbon, a critical material for sodium-ion batteries. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which depend on scarce and geopolitically sensitive lithium, sodium-ion batteries offer a more sustainable and accessible alternative.
However, they currently rely on fossil fuel-derived hard carbon, which makes their environmental benefits limited. Researchers are now exploring how agricultural waste can create a greener and more circular solution for energy storage.
Morocco World News (MWN) spoke with Zineb Kassab, a researcher and professor at University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P), to learn more about how agricultural waste can be converted into hard carbon for sodium-ion batteries. Her research focuses on converting agricultural waste into hard carbon using pyrolysis, a process involving heat in the absence of oxygen.-
Kassab explained that Sodium-ion batteries function similarly to lithium-ion batteries, as both rely on the movement of alkali metal ions between the anode and cathode during charging and discharging cycles. However, sodium is significantly more abundant and widely distributed than lithium, which makes sodium-ion batteries a cost-effective and sustainable option.
While lithium-ion batteries have higher energy density, sodium-ion batteries present a strong alternative, particularly for stationary energy storage applications where cost and sustainability outweigh the need for compact size and extreme energy density. The professor highlighted the role sodium-ion technology is expected to play given the looming shortage of lithium resources.
Transforming agricultural waste into hard carbon
Agricultural waste, also known as lignocellulosic biomass, contains valuable components such as lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Through a process called pyrolysis, where biomass is heated at high temperatures in an oxygen-free environment, this waste can be converted into hard carbon, a key anode material for sodium-ion batteries.
The transformation process includes several steps, including pre-treatment during which the biomass is collected, dried, and ground into smaller particles. The material is then heated at a controlled temperature in an inert atmosphere to remove volatile compounds and leave behind a porous carbon structure.
During the post-treatment, the carbon is further refined, sometimes with the addition of catalysts, to enhance its electrochemical properties and improve battery performance.
Kassab argued that this method offers an environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternative to synthetic carbon derived from petroleum-based products.
“When we use bio-waste, we’re really giving it a second life. We’re preventing it from being burned or dumped into landfills, like farmers usually do,” she stated.
The professor noted multiple benefits to using agricultural waste for hard carbon production, including reducing CO2 emissions, as this method valorizes waste into high-value materials, instead of burning, which releases greenhouse gases.
Kassab added that this method makes use of biomass that is a widely available, renewable, and abundant resource in countries like Morocco and across Africa.
She added that producing bio-derived hard carbon from this waste requires less energy than synthetic alternatives, which helps reduce the overall carbon footprint. In addition, this approach supports a “circular economy” by repurposing waste for energy applications, which minimizes landfill accumulation and promotes more sustainable resource use.
“It’s a circular economy we are creating in a closed loop system where waste is transformed into high added value materials for energy applications,” Kassab argued.
Challenges in scaling up the technology
Despite its promise, scaling up bio-derived hard carbon for commercial sodium-ion batteries faces several challenges. The professor mentioned the issue of material consistency, as different types of biomass have varying compositions, which affects the final carbon properties. Researchers like Kassab are working to standardize the process for consistent results.
In addition, the pyrolysis process requires significant energy input. Innovations, such as the use of catalysts, are being developed to lower energy consumption while maintaining high-performance carbon output. The goal is to create an “energy efficient and scalable pyrolysis method,” the professor says.
She also mentioned challenges related to industrial adoption, as integrating bio-derived hard carbon into commercial battery production requires extensive validation, testing, and compatibility assessments.
In addition, hard carbon made from biomass faces tough market competition, as it must go up against widely used conventional materials like synthetic carbon and graphite in battery technology.
These challenges, however, present an opportunity for innovation and local development. African countries, including Morocco, generate vast amounts of agricultural waste, which offers an opportunity to establish a competitive and sustainable sodium-ion battery supply chain, Kassab says.
Leveraging this resource could allow Africa to reduce its reliance on imported lithium and develop local industries for bio-derived carbon production. “We can reduce dependence on imported lithium … we can produce something from Africa to Africa,” the professor stated.
This shift could create new employment opportunities in biomass collection, processing, and battery production, which would in turn support local economies. In addition, promoting green energy solutions aligns with global sustainability goals and enhances energy security for the continent, Kassab noted.
From research to real-world application
Research in bio-derived hard carbon is advancing rapidly. In Morocco, institutions like UM6P are supporting pilot-scale production, moving from lab experiments to industrial applications. These initiatives aim to optimize carbon properties, improve battery performance, and scale up production for widespread use.
She noted that the university is actively investing in exploring local, sustainable resources like agricultural waste and biomass to develop energy storage solutions that are both environmentally friendly and economically viable.
She mentioned that Morocco, and specifically UM6P, is among the few institutions in Africa working on this topic in a serious and strategic way. The university is focusing on valorizing local resources available in Morocco and Africa by developing eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic carbon for battery use. The goal is to optimize the properties of carbon derived from biomass to improve the electrochemical performance of these batteries.
The professor explained that they have moved beyond lab-scale research and are currently working on pilot-scale production. This upscaling aims to prepare larger quantities of bio-derived hard carbon and test its use in bigger batteries, rather than just small validation cells.
She mentioned various types of biomass being tested, such as alpha plants and argan shells, known for their high cellulose content and promising yield. They are also working on mixing different biomass types to ensure consistent quality and sustainability.
She estimated that commercial applications of bio-derived sodium-ion batteries could be seen in the next five to 10 years, depending on the progress in upscaling and optimization. She also noted that Morocco and African governments are increasingly aware of environmental challenges and are beginning to adopt policies that support green energy and sustainable technologies, including waste valorization and green hydrogen.
