Green hydrogen — produced by splitting water using renewable electricity — has emerged as one of the most debated technologies in the global energy transition. For Africa, which holds abundant solar and wind resources, it represents both an opportunity and a risk.

**What is green hydrogen?**

Unlike grey hydrogen (produced from natural gas) or blue hydrogen (with carbon capture), green hydrogen uses electrolysis powered by renewable energy to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. It produces no direct carbon emissions.

**Why Africa?**

Several African countries sit at the intersection of three prerequisites for competitive green hydrogen production: strong solar irradiance, available coastal land for export infrastructure, and growing pools of technical labour.

South Africa, Namibia, Morocco, and Egypt are the most advanced in terms of announced projects. Namibia’s Hyphen Hydrogen Energy project, for instance, aims to produce 300,000 tonnes per year for export to Europe by the early 2030s.

**The challenges**

Green hydrogen is still expensive. Current production costs in Africa range from $3–6 per kilogram, compared to $1–2 for fossil-fuel-derived hydrogen. Electrolysers are capital intensive. Offtake agreements with European buyers are long-dated and complex.

**The industrialisation question**

There is a growing debate within African policy circles about whether green hydrogen should be exported as a raw commodity or used domestically to power industrial processes — steel, ammonia, fertiliser — that could anchor manufacturing on the continent.

**What to watch**

The next 18 months will see several African hydrogen projects reach final investment decisions. Their terms — particularly the share of output destined for domestic use versus export — will shape the technology’s legacy on the continent.

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