EU Grants $35M to Boost South Africa’s Green Hydrogen Industry

AFRICAN BUSINESS AND ECONOMYSeptember 11, 2024 at 1:13 PM UTC

TLDR

EU grants €32 million to boost South Africa's green hydrogen sector, leveraging renewable energy for clean fuel production.
Funding aims to attract investments, with €25 million grant expected to generate $558 million in investments.
€7 million grant supports hydrogen studies and pilot projects by state-owned Transnet SOC.

The European Union (EU) will provide two grants totaling €32 million ($35 million) to help South Africa develop its green hydrogen sector.

The funding aims to leverage South Africa’s renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar, to produce green hydrogen, a potential clean fuel alternative for ships and heavy industry.

The grants will attract further investments into South Africa's hydrogen economy. The first €25 million grant is expected to generate 10 billion rand ($558 million) in public and private investment while the second €7 million grant will support hydrogen studies and pilot projects by state-owned Transnet SOC.

Key Takeaways

Green hydrogen is produced by using renewable energy to split water into hydrogen, a process that does not emit greenhouse gases. Despite being costly compared to oil derivatives, green hydrogen is expected to become more competitive as technology improves and fossil fuel penalties rise. It is also proving to be the latest energy commodity scramble among a few African countries, including Namibia and Morocco. With its vast resources, Africa has the potential to become one of the main global renewable energy hubs. But it remains to be seen whether its nations can deliver a cost-competitive product in an emerging global hydrogen sector.

South Africa

Green Hydrogen

Clean Energy