Funding tracker: Southern Africa dominates investments

From the newsletter

Southern Africa dominated green hydrogen investments in June 2025, accounting for all major funding commitments across the continent. The Hydrogen Rising funding tracker shows that leading players South Africa and Namibia secured $307 million in concessional loans and grants to advance flagship projects and infrastructure.

• South Africa led in both the number and diversity of deals, taking two of the three transactions, comprising a mix of concessional loans and grants totalling $57 million.

• Meanwhile, neighbouring Namibia secured the single largest commitment, a $250 million grant, accounting for 81% of the total funding available.

More details

• In South Africa, a $37 million investment announced at the Africa Green Hydrogen Summit came from public financial institutions supporting the country’s flagship blended finance vehicle, the SA-H2 Green Hydrogen Fund, also known as C13 South Africa. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) each committed $10 million, while the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) pledged a further $17 million.

• June marked a month of firsts, most notably the operationalisation of Africa’s first hydrogen-blended finance vehicle. The SA-H2 Fund, managed by Climate Fund Managers (CFM) and Invest International, transitioned from concept to execution with its first disbursement of $20 million to the Hive Hydrogen Green Ammonia Project.

• The project’s development agreement was signed during the Summit, with the funds allocated to support front-end engineering, permitting, environmental and social impact assessments, and offtake preparations for the Hive Project, which is South Africa’s first large-scale green ammonia facility. With this initial investment, SA-H2 also retains the right to invest up to $200 million in construction financing for the project.

• Set to produce one million tonnes of green ammonia annually, Hive is expected to cut 2.6 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions and create up to 20,000 jobs. Financial close is targeted for the second half of 2026 with commercial operations expected by 2029.

• Meanwhile, Namibia secured a $250 million grant from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) to accelerate green hydrogen development and the decarbonization of hard-to-abate industries. The funding forms part of CIF’s new $1 billion Industry Decarbonization Investment Program, which provides developing countries with financial and technical assistance to scale up technologies such as green hydrogen.

• Compared to previous months, June recorded an 18.6% decrease in green hydrogen funding from May, continuing a downward trend observed since the first quarter. Investments fell from $60,877 million in March to $40,759 million in April, before plunging sharply to $377 million in May.

Our take

• Southern Africa’s dominance in funding showcases the region’s desire to position itself as a continental leader in green hydrogen, leveraging both domestic institutions and international partnerships to accelerate project development and attract investment.

• Unlike many peer economies reliant on foreign capital, South Africa is mobilising domestic public finance to drive hydrogen development, signalling a strong internal alignment and long-term commitment to green hydrogen production.

• South Africa is a lesson for other hydrogen peers, bold ambitions must be backed by concrete action. The country’s ability to operationalise a new funding tool, secure early-stage deals, and involve domestic financiers shows a nation actively walking the green hydrogen talk.