NEWS

The African Development Bank Group will provide reimbursable grants worth USD 20 million to support four green hydrogen/derivatives projects in Egypt, Morocco, Namibia and South Africa.

The financing will be extended under the Africa Green Hydrogen Programme’s call for Proposals (CfP), which took place from 10 April 2026 through 11 May 2026. The Bank Group’s Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate Change and Green Growth, Kevin Kariuki, announced the CfP outcomes during the Africa Green Hydrogen Summit 2026 in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Pending approval by the Bank’s Board of Directors, the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) will provide the funding, which is intended to prepare projects for investment.

The projects span sustainable marine and aviation fuels (Egypt, Morocco and Namibia) and low-carbon iron (South Africa). Project ‘Ra’ in Egypt (sponsored by DAI Infrastruktur GmbH) will receive $ 3.55 million; Guelmim Green Hydrogen Valley in Morocco (sponsored by Nareva Holding) secured $ 5.28 million; the Hyphen project (sponsored by Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Pty) Ltd) will receive USD 5.93 million; and Saldanha Hydrogen DRI in South Africa, (sponsored by Enertrag SE in collaboration with ArcelorMittal South Africa), secured USD 5.24 million. The four projects represent estimated investments of USD 23 billion, as well as 20GW equivalent of solar and wind energy generation capacity, 7 GW of electrolyser capacity and 2950 MWh of battery energy storage capacity.

The Africa Green Hydrogen Programme aims to catalyse private sector participation in the hydrogen infrastructure segment by improving bankability and promoting foreign direct investment. Leveraging green hydrogen and its derivatives for storage of solar and wind power is expected to accelerate renewable energy development by eliminating the need for fossil fuels and reducing carbon emissions.

The programme will also drive local socio-economic development by increasing access to desalinated potable water and electricity by harnessing surplus generation. It will also advance industrial development, export revenue generation, as well as the transfer of knowledge, technology, skills as well as job creation.

The Africa Green Hydrogen Programme’s call for proposals attracted 81 proposals for projects located in 18 African countries.