Green hydrogen is being hailed as Africa’s next big export—comparable to oil in its potential scale. But is the excitement justified, and what does it mean for investors?
At the Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town last week, South Africa signed $12 billion worth of preliminary deals with European and Asian partners to develop large-scale hydrogen plants and export infrastructure. Namibia, Morocco, Egypt, and Mauritania are also positioning themselves as green hydrogen leaders, touting abundant solar and wind resources that make production costs globally competitive.
“Green hydrogen is not a dream—it is already an investment frontier,” declared Gwede Mantashe, South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy. “Africa has the potential to supply the world with clean energy, while industrializing at home.”
Analysts, however, caution that the path is not without hurdles. Export markets remain uncertain, given competition from Australia and the Middle East. Building the necessary port, pipeline, and storage infrastructure will require hundreds of billions of dollars, and timelines extend into the 2030s.
Still, investors are circling. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has pledged €1.5 billion to Africa’s green hydrogen pipeline, while German utility Uniper signed an MoU with Namibia’s Hyphen Hydrogen Energy for long-term supply. In Egypt, the Sovereign Fund is co-investing with Masdar (UAE) and Scatec (Norway) in $8 billion worth of hydrogen hubs in the Suez Canal corridor.
For Africa, the opportunity is twofold: export earnings and domestic industrialization. Kenya’s Konza Technopolis announced it will pilot hydrogen buses by 2026, while Nigeria’s Dangote Group is exploring hydrogen-powered fertilizer production.
“Green hydrogen must not become another extractive export,” warned Wanjira Mathai, VP at World Resources Institute. “It has to fuel Africa’s own energy transition and job creation.”
For impact-driven investors, the message is clear: the sector carries high risks but equally high potential for transformative returns.
