The programme comes under AFDB’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, which was financed by the German government, and will offer three to five selected projects pre-investment financing up to $20m in reimbursable grants.

The funds will support activities such as feasibility and engineering design studies to help projects reach final investment decision.

An online application window begins on April 10 and will stay open for a month.

Dr Daniel Schroth, Director of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Department at ADDB, said the initiative is designed to transition projects on the continent from development to bankability.

“Green hydrogen represents a real opportunity for Africa, both to decarbonise hard-to-abate industries and to build new value chains, while contributing to socio-economic development,” he added.

Africa’s green hydrogen outlook remains nascent and, like the industry more broadly, has seen trouble converting plans into realised projects.

Countries in Northern Africa, like Egypt and Morocco are viewed as potential green hydrogen suppliers for European countries due to their cheap renewables and proximity to huge consumers.

A majority Egyptian consortium recently unveiled early plans for a 170,000 tonne per year green ammonia project, while in March 2025, the Moroccan government approved six hydrogen-based projects in the country worth a total $32.7bn.

However, projects on the wider continent remain scarce. The Energy Industries Council’s recent report urged the African market to prioritise realistic green hydrogen offtake and revealed an operating production capacity of just 17MW out of a planned 38GW worth of projects.