EU expands regional financing approach in Africa

November 01, 2026

Dear subscriber,

Hydrogen’s progress in Africa is struggling with congested grids, forcing developers to rethink infrastructure. Yet legal ingenuity and strategic ports are quietly shaping the sector’s future, hinting at opportunities beyond the bottlenecks. 

Mercy Maina-Editor

EU expands regional financing approach in Africa

The European Union has announced $5.1 billion in guarantees to mobilise investment in Mediterranean renewable energy, including a $667 million for a green ammonia project in Egypt. The initiative raises hopes that the bloc’s regional financing approach could extend to other African hydrogen markets. 

  • The EU remains a major backer of Africa’s green hydrogen ambitions, using guarantees and blended finance to help mobilise investment as it advances its decarbonisation goals and clean energy partnerships. 

  • A regional financing approach will help countries address shared barriers to green hydrogen development.

  • Our take: The approach could redraw the geography of Africa’s hydrogen investment, making regional connections and shared industrial ecosystems as important as individual countries’ renewable energy resources… Read more (2 min)

As countries pursue green hydrogen development, environmental chemist Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo warns that the industry’s reliance on water could threaten already stressed ecosystems. He argues that sustainable hydrogen production must account for water availability, desalination impacts and the needs of local communities.

  • “If we do not fundamentally rethink the hydro-ecological tradeoffs of mega-scale electrolysis, we are not solving the climate crisis. We are simply trading carbon emissions for localized hydrological collapse,” he says.

  • Akeem Adeyemi Oladipo  is a Research Professor of Materials and Environmental Chemistry at Eastern Mediterranean University in Northern Cyprus and Senior Editor of Critical Insights in Environmental Science and Technology journal. His work bridges molecular chemistry and industrial-scale solutions, focusing on translating research into practical applications that address global challenges at the water-energy nexus. 

  • Read the full opinion article here (2 min)

Green hydrogen developments in Africa secured $235.3 million in tracked funding between July and September 2026, more than four times the $54.1 million recorded in the first half of the year. Spread across eight deals, the funding was distributed across southern and North Africa, with projects at different stages of development attracting capital.

  • The quarter’s funding total was largely driven by a single $182 million deal involving Climate Fund Managers in South Africa. The deal, structured as blended finance, accounted for 77.3% of the $235.3 million total, making blended finance the dominant funding instrument.

  • Southern Africa dominated, accounting for 93.8% of the total, equivalent to $220.8 million. At the country level, South Africa accounted for 89.8% of total funding, or $211.2 million.

  • Our take:The region’s hydrogen economy remains reliant on development finance and blended-finance structures… Read more (2 min)

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Source: Hyundai Rotem

Egypt & South Korea sign an MoU to develop a hydrogen-powered tram system in Cairo

Events

📅 Attend the Sustainable Energy Conference in Kenya (Nov 24)

✍️ Register for the Renewable Energy Forum Africa (REFA) in Nigeria (Nov 25)

 Jobs

👷🏾Oversee project construction at ENGIE (Egypt)

🧕🏼Manage project procurement at Siemens Energy (Egypt)

🧑‍💼Research on plasma-driven hydrogen production at UM6P (Morocco)

Various 

💲GCF to provide USD 140m for decarbonisation funds in South Africa, Namibia

💹 Global hydrogen generation market to exceed $241 billion by 2030

🙋 Are African green hydrogen projects for Africans?

💦 Green hydrogen projects will consume a quarter of Tunisians’ water needs by 2050! 

✅ South Africa’s $5.8bn green hydrogen ammonia project takes big leap forward 

🪭 Green hydrogen is having its “2012 solar” moment

🚎 Egypt and South Korea launch hydrogen tram initiative 

Seen on LinkedIn 

KAHRE Renewable Energy Group says, “We chose South Africa as the location for an integrated renewable energy system for four reasons: very strong solar and wind resources; a coastline well placed for exports to Europe and Asia; considerable economic potential; and political openness to the energy transition. Taken together, these give the country a realistic prospect of becoming a major centre for green energy production and export.”