EU commits €50mn to Namibian, South African H2 funds

The EU will contribute €50mn ($55mn) to renewable hydrogen investment funds in Namibia and South Africa.

The funds will come from the bloc's Global Gateway international investment scheme, EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said at the Global African Hydrogen Summit in Windhoek.

"Investment will especially target private sector projects across the hydrogen value chain, such as the production, transportation and storage, as well as downstream industries," Simson said.

Namibia's SDG Namibia Fund will receive €25mn, one of its managers, the Netherlands-headquartered Climate Fund Managers, said. This suggests the €50mn could be split equally between funds in Namibia and South Africa.

The SDG Namibia Fund was launched in late 2022 with a target of raising $1bn in blended financing for renewable hydrogen projects and related infrastructure. It has received backing from Dutch state-owned Invest International and USAID Southern Africa Mobilizing Investment, and made a first investment late in 2023, supporting the Hyphen renewable hydrogen and ammonia project with an initial €23mn.

South Africa's SA-H2 Fund is also targeting $1bn and is similarly backed by Invest International and other Dutch institutions.

Simson announced two smaller support programmes in Windhoek. The EU together with the German government will provide €2.7mn for Namibia's planning efforts for expanding renewable hydrogen generation capacity and increasing access to this. It will grant €1.2mn to the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme, a government-led initiative for drawing up regulations and support mechanisms for the sector.

The EU plans to invest €1bn in Namibian renewable hydrogen and sustainable raw material value chains. The European Commission said last year that the bloc, its member states and European financial institutions would provide these funds as part of the Global Gateway initiative.

By Stefan Krumpelmann