Africa must move beyond producing green hydrogen and take a greater share of the technology, manufacturing, skills and industrial opportunities emerging around the fast-growing sector, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Nomalungelo Gina, has said.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Africa Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town on September 15, Gina said the continent had a critical three-year window to strengthen its participation in green hydrogen value chains as projects move from feasibility studies and planning towards investment, implementation and large-scale deployment.
She said major green hydrogen projects should be used to build local industries rather than simply export renewable energy or hydrogen-related commodities.
“Every major project should be viewed as an opportunity to develop local supply chains, technology capability, manufacturing and skills,” Gina said during a ministerial plenary on “Powering Gigawatt-Scale Green Hydrogen.”
For Africa, the expansion of green hydrogen presents opportunities extending beyond energy production, including manufacturing of electrolysers and other equipment, development of intellectual property, technical skills, research and development, and the creation of new industrial value chains.
Gina said South Africa’s Department of Science, Technology and Innovation was focused on ensuring that growth in the hydrogen economy translated into greater technological capability and industrial capacity.
“Our focus is to ensure that this growth is accompanied by the development of technology capability, intellectual property, skills and local industrial capacity,” she said.
South Africa has sought to build domestic expertise through Hydrogen South Africa, a national initiative that has supported research and technological development across the hydrogen and fuel-cell value chain.
The capabilities developed include catalysts, fuel cells, electrolysers, hydrogen storage, metal hydrides, compression and refuelling technologies.
According to Gina, South African hydrogen-related intellectual property has been filed in 14 countries, including South Africa, with about 70% linked to commercial products. Several catalyst products are already being sold to customers in South Africa and abroad, while efforts are under way with the Technology Innovation Agency to establish local manufacturing capacity.
“These examples demonstrate that the journey from research to market is possible. But they also show us that RDI alone is not enough,” she said.
She called for stronger cooperation between governments, industry, universities, investors and international partners to turn research and innovation into commercially viable industries.
The summit also saw the unveiling of the Eastern Cape Green Hydrogen Strategy by Gina and Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
Developed through a partnership between the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, Nelson Mandela University and the South African National Energy Development Institute, the strategy seeks to position the province as a hub for green hydrogen-driven industrialisation.
It aims to attract investment, develop new industries, create jobs, deepen local value chains and strengthen the Eastern Cape’s position in the emerging low-carbon global economy.
Mabuyane said the strategy provides a framework for investment, localisation and skills development while helping existing automotive, manufacturing and export industries adapt to the transition towards lower-carbon production.
The Eastern Cape already has more than 2.4 gigawatts of renewable-energy capacity operational or under construction, while its renewable-energy project pipeline exceeds 10 gigawatts.
The province also has strategic industrial and export infrastructure, including the ports of Ngqura and East London, the Coega Special Economic Zone and East London Industrial Development Zone. Its established automotive and manufacturing sectors provide a potential industrial base for the development of green hydrogen-related industries.
Gina said governments would need to maintain an enabling policy and institutional environment while research institutions increasingly align their work with market needs.
The summit also marked the announcement of the first wave of South Africa’s national green hydrogen and Power-to-X projects by Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
The launch of the inaugural Hydrogen Deal Book, which brings together investment opportunities in the sector, further underscored South Africa’s push to move green hydrogen projects towards commercialisation.
The developments form part of the implementation of South Africa’s Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy and efforts to establish a pipeline of investment-ready projects.
As African countries seek to expand renewable energy capacity and attract green industrial investment, the discussions in Cape Town highlight a broader challenge for the continent: ensuring that the transition to a low-carbon economy generates domestic manufacturing, technology ownership, skilled employment and industrial development rather than leaving African economies primarily as suppliers of energy and raw materials.
