As South Africa intensifies its bid to position itself as a key player in the global hydrogen economy, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Germany’s KfW Development Bank have formalised a €17-million memorandum of understanding (MoU) to close persistent funding gaps in green hydrogen development.
$5.8 billion green ammonia project on South Africa’s east coast is positioning itself as a low-cost contender in a competitive export landscape dominated by subsidies and infrastructure races.
With $474.6 million in newly approved financing, the African Development Bank (AfDB) is doubling down on South Africa’s energy transition, backing a broad structural reform agenda that places equal weight on infrastructure governance, green growth, and inclusive development.
South Africa is making a calculated move to position Saldanha Bay on the West Coast as a key hydrogen hub. Central to this effort is the development of the West Coast Green Hydrogen Master Plan, now formally underway with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) appointed to coordinate its first phase.
Namibia is accelerating its regional green hydrogen ambitions with a proposed cross-border pipeline to South Africa, aiming to supply low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia from Lüderitz to support industrial decarbonisation in the Northern Cape.
The International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) recent $72 million investment into a 300 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) marks a pivotal move toward addressing the intermittency challenge that has long hindered solar and wind uptake.
South Africa’s drive to position itself as a green hydrogen export hub took a significant step forward with the announcement of a USD 20 million early-stage investment into the Hive Hydrogen Coega project.
Africa’s green hydrogen sector is gathering pace, with over 52 large-scale projects now under development across the continent—positioning it as a critical geography in the global decarbonization effort.
In a sobering development for the green hydrogen and ammonia sectors, CWP Global has announced a pause on its large-scale initiative in Mauritania, shedding light on significant market hurdles.
With projects in India, Europe, and Southeast Asia moving into advanced planning or early deployment phases, hydrogen’s transition from a policy aspiration to a commercial reality is gaining traction—though challenges remain, particularly around scale, capital expenditure, and offtake certainty.
