• Hydrogen Rising
  • Posts
  • You cannot build hydrogen plants without knowing the customer

You cannot build hydrogen plants without knowing the customer

July 05, 2026

Dear subscriber,

Picking the right end product matters more than being fast or big. As Africa's hydrogen economy continues developing, with new projects announced and fresh momentum emerging across the continent, long-term success will depend on more than ambitious projects alone. 

Mercy Maina – Editor

You cannot build hydrogen plants without knowing the customer

Much of the discussion around Africa's hydrogen industry has focused on scaling production. As those ambitions move closer to implementation, attention is shifting towards the infrastructure needed to support them – often before it is clear what the end products of a production facility will be. That’s going to lead to expensive mistakes.

  • Rather than becoming a single globally traded commodity, green hydrogen will reach markets in several forms, including green ammonia, liquid hydrogen, methanol and sustainable aviation fuel. Each requires distinct production, storage, transport and export infrastructure. 

  • A new report by the International PtX Hub suggests infrastructure investments made before market demand becomes clearer risk being poorly aligned with the hydrogen products buyers ultimately demand.  

  • Our take: Competitive advantage will depend not on production capacity alone but also aligned infrastructure….. Read more (2 min)

Amid slowing momentum in the global green hydrogen economy, Africa continued to expand its project pipeline in the first half of 2026. Data from Hydrogen Rising's project tracker shows that five new green hydrogen projects were announced across the continent during the period, spanning southern, eastern and northern Africa.

  • South Africa and Egypt accounted for four of Africa's five new green hydrogen project announcements in H1 2026—two each—reinforcing their position as among the continent's most active hydrogen development markets.

  • Green ammonia remained Africa's dominant hydrogen pathway, featuring in three of the five project announcements and reflecting continued interest in both export markets and domestic fertiliser applications. 

  • Our take: More viable projects may be the ones with built-in demand ….Read more (2 min)

UAE state-owned clean energy developer Masdar recorded the fastest workforce growth in Africa among ten largest hydrogen firms on the continent. The company expanded its senior employee base by 43.8% to 23 over the past year, while its sales and business development team doubled from three to six.

  • The analysis is based on senior employee data retrieved from LinkedIn. Besides green hydrogen, Masdar develops and operates renewable energy projects, including solar, wind and battery energy storage systems, across international markets. 

  • The company is currently involved in two green hydrogen projects in Africa: A multi-phase green hydrogen and derivatives programme in Egypt, and a Mauritania project being developed through Infinity Power, its joint venture partner. 

  • Our take: Africa's hydrogen industry is advancing at different speeds….Read more (2 min)

________//___________

Source: CMB.TECH Namibia

Bogies installed on engine set to power Namibia’s first green hydrogen freight rail

Events

🧳 Attend the African Green Industries Summit in Namibia (Sept 9)

🤝 Network at the African Green Hydrogen Summit in South Africa (Sept 15)

👭 Participate in the Women in Renewable Energy Conference in Kenya (Oct 21)

 Jobs

🧑‍💼 Be the next Operations Manager at Daures Green Hydrogen Village

👷 Oversee project development at Scatec (South Africa)

⛑️ Work as a HSSE Manager at Scatec (South Africa)

🧕 Support SAF initiatives as an intern at ICAO (Kenya)

Various 

💧 Africa’s electrolyser demand to grow at a 25–35% CAGR between 2026 and 2035

✈️ Sasol dissolves sustainable aviation fuel joint venture Zaffra 

🤝 Ohmium and Hynfra partner to advance green hydrogen projects in Mauritania

🎊 Namibia emerges as Africa’s energy transition champion in 2026 

🎖️ Daures Green Hydrogen Village wins Africa's Impact Investment Award 

⁉️ Can the Hormuz crisis reshape the hydrogen economy? 

Seen on LinkedIn 

International Power-to-X Hub says, “Producing green hydrogen is one challenge. Getting it to industry at home and to buyers abroad is another, and that journey is where much of the cost is decided.”