South African President Calls on African Countries to Strengthen Development of Green Hydrogen Energy

The two-day 2026 Africa Green Hydrogen Summit opened on the 15th in Cape Town, South Africa's legislative capital. South African President Ramaphosa called on African countries to seize the historic opportunity in green hydrogen development and strengthen practical cooperation to achieve energy security, advance decarbonization, and promote sustainable development. In his opening address, delivered on his behalf by Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Ramaphosa said Africa is richly endowed with renewable energy, water resources, and critical minerals, and is fully positioned to become an important hub for the global green hydrogen industry. Developing green hydrogen is not only about investment and the layout of emerging industries, but also helps alleviate energy poverty in Africa, create jobs, and drive a just energy transition. Africa should seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity and accelerate action to position itself at the forefront of transformative industrial development. Ramaphosa stressed that Africa must not serve merely as a supplier of renewable energy, minerals, and hydrogen products, but should also participate in the entire value chain. He called on technology partners to build manufacturing, training, and research capacity in Africa, and to expand local procurement, manufacturing, employment, and skills transfer. Ramaphosa announced that South Africa has launched its first six green hydrogen projects under the national green hydrogen plan. Among them, the power-to-sustainable aviation fuel project located in Saldanha Bay, Western Cape Province, is expected to begin construction in the first quarter of 2027 and export its first batch of power-to-sustainable aviation fuel in the first quarter of 2029. The Africa Green Hydrogen Summit evolved from the South Africa Green Hydrogen Summit, first held in 2022, and expanded to cover the entire African continent starting in 2025. During the conference, government officials, energy experts, industry leaders, policymakers, and investors gather to discuss the future of Africa's green hydrogen industry development.