Opinion: Five lessons for African hydrogen from Germany

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As Africa scales its green hydrogen ambitions, the continent could learn valuable lessons from Germany, one of Europe’s most proactive nations leveraging green hydrogen to achieve climate neutrality. Mercy Maina says adopting Germany’s approach could help Africa turn its renewable potential into a competitive, well-coordinated hydrogen industry.

• Ms Maina is our Hydrogen Rising editor, and she spent last week in Germany at the invitation of the government to explore the country’s green hydrogen ecosystem.

• From the visit, Ms Maina shares five lessons that Africa could learn from Germany: Strategic clarity and institutional alignment, an enabling policy and investment environment, strong public‑private collaboration, regional and supra‑national coordination and a sustained focus on research, development and skills.

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By Mercy Maina

For someone who writes about Africa’s green hydrogen economy, the visit to Berlin and Hamburg felt like stepping into a live demonstration of what coordinated policy, technology and politics look like in action. Among the 16 delegation members, who are experts working in the green hydrogen economy across Africa, Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, there was broad consensus that Germany has its act together and could serve as a model for our respective countries and regions. For Africa, the lessons are particularly instructive.

A key lesson African green hydrogen producers could draw from Germany is the importance of strategic clarity and institutional alignment. Germany aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2045, five years ahead of the European Union’s 2050 target and well before the mid-century timeline envisioned in the Paris Agreement.  For Europe’s largest economy, this is not merely an ambition to signal climate consciousness; it is a national mission, underpinned by strategy, policy, and investment. Over the week, we engaged with about a dozen organisations across the public and private sectors, from policy and research institutions to project developers and industrial hubs. Every actor’s work and goals are directly tied to the country’s national hydrogen strategy, providing a clear reference point for planning and execution. The alignment was unmistakable. In contrast, Africa’s green hydrogen ambitions remain fragmented. While countries have bold goals, implementation is often slowed by a lack of strategic direction and gaps in coordination, even where national policies exist. Clear, unified national strategies could provide a roadmap for investors, developers, and researchers, reducing fragmentation and accelerating deployment.

Another lesson for Africa is the value of a proactive enabling environment. The European nation demonstrates its commitment not just through strategy but through practical incentives and policy mechanisms. In Hamburg, federal funding and incentives are supporting the city’s transition from a coal‑fired power plant site and fossil‐fuel infrastructure toward a hydrogen‑based energy and industrial system. At the national level, mechanisms exist to bridge cost gaps during hydrogen auctions and provide guarantees that de-risk renewable energy projects, including export credit and loan guarantees. These measures reduce investment risk, accelerate deployment and ensure policy translates into tangible market outcomes. For Africa, despite the continent’s renewable potential and big hydrogen ambitions, high production costs and competitive pressures limit offtake. African hydrogen markets could benefit from de-risking mechanisms and targeted incentives similar to those used in Germany. By lowering barriers for investors and developers, countries can attract capital and scale hydrogen projects more quickly.

Africa could also benefit from stronger public‑private collaboration. In Berlin and Hamburg, we observed government actors working closely with the private sector to advance the national hydrogen strategy. The private sector recognises the government’s role in shaping energy policy, while the government values the expertise and insights of private actors. In many African countries, by contrast, the private sector is often alienated, and its involvement in national energy discussions is limited. As a result, opportunities for coordinated planning, knowledge sharing, and joint investment are frequently missed, slowing the development of a commercially viable and strategically integrated hydrogen sector. Strengthening these partnerships could help African countries translate ambition into tangible projects more efficiently.

Moreover, Germany is not pursuing its climate and hydrogen targets in isolation; its efforts are closely aligned with the broader EU climate and hydrogen agenda. Germany’s hydrogen strategy references EU frameworks such as the European Green Deal, the EU Hydrogen Strategy for a Climate‑Neutral Europe and related EU legislation on renewables and energy infrastructure, facilitating cross‑border cooperation, harmonised standards and joint investment. This alignment enables Berlin to participate in coordinated funding mechanisms, infrastructure planning that spans national boundaries, and shared regulatory frameworks, strengthening both its domestic ambitions and its role in the wider European energy transition. For Africa, while each country is pursuing its own hydrogen agenda, greater regional coordination and knowledge sharing could accelerate learning, attract investment, and support mutually beneficial growth across the continent.

Germany also places a strong emphasis on research and development, investing billions of euros to ensure its 2045 net-zero target is met. During our visit, we toured extensive facilities dedicated to testing the safety and performance of green hydrogen, including experimental setups for aviation applications. These projects have been ongoing for years, with sustained funding and professional expertise ensuring they are brought to fruition, regardless of cost or duration. Behind these initiatives are highly specialised professionals and educational programmes designed specifically to develop the skills needed for a green hydrogen transition. For Africa, replicating this scale of funding for research and technical expertise may be challenging, but the lesson nonetheless remains clear that a well-defined plan, supported by targeted action points and capacity-building initiatives, is essential to lay the foundation for a competitive hydrogen sector.

The question is not whether Africa can produce green hydrogen, but whether it can do so with the strategy, coordination and foresight needed to thrive. Germany’s example shows that turning hydrogen potential into industrial reality requires five connected elements: strategic clarity and institutional alignment, an enabling policy and investment environment, strong public‑private collaboration, regional and supra‑national coordination and a sustained focus on research, development and skills. By adopting these lessons, African countries can build a hydrogen industry that is both globally competitive and economically resilient.