On Thursday, 12 June, Premier Alan Winde led a Western Cape Government delegation
at the Africa Green Hydrogen Summit 2025, being held in Cape Town.
Themed, “Unlocking Africa’s Green Hydrogen Potential for Sustainable Growth,” the
summit brings together an array of stakeholders, among them government officials,
policymakers, and investors, to take forward not just South Africa but Africa’s green
hydrogen (GH2) ambitions.
The Western Cape Government, through its Energy Resilience Programme and Western
Cape Green Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, is exploring all feasible and sustainable
energy solutions to secure the province’s energy security, vital to growing the province’s
economy and creating jobs.
“Our embrace of green hydrogen comes at a critical time for our province, country, and
the world. We cannot afford to waste any more time addressing the climate change
crisis. This crisis requires sustainable energy solutions that strike a balance between the
need to boost economic growth and work towards a low-carbon future. By exploiting
innovative technologies, such as GH2, we are futureproofing our province and country,”
said Premier Winde.
Delivering the welcome address, Premier Winde noted, “It was said to me at the summit,
we must move from PowerPoint to gigawatts. We have the Memorandum of
Understanding between our province, the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape in place to
collaboratively develop South Africa’s first GH2 corridor with Namibia. We must now
move from strategy to action.” The Western Cape Green Hydrogen Strategy and
Roadmap, approved by the provincial Cabinet in 2024, aims to achieve:
- Economic growth and job creation.
- Energy security in the Western Cape and South Africa.
- Decarbonisation through increased renewable energy production
All of these factors, taken together, must build an affordable, reliable and sustainable
energy mix for the Western Cape and South Africa.
GH2 presents an opportunity for breakout growth in the province: it offers a new domestic
and export market, which will contribute to stimulating economic growth and job
creation and will lay the foundation for skills development and increased job creation.
Dr Ivan Meyer, Western Cape Minister of Agriculture, Economic Development and
Tourism, said, “Our province is uniquely positioned to lead in this space. With abundant
solar and wind resources, world-class port infrastructure, and a robust regulatory and
financial ecosystem, the Western Cape offers a compelling value proposition for green
hydrogen investment. Our Green Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, aligned with South
Africa’s national Commercialisation Strategy, sets an ambitious target of 15GW of green
energy generation and up to 420,000 tonnes of hydrogen exports by 2035. This aligns
seamlessly with our flagship economic strategy, Growth for Jobs, which aims to grow the
Western Cape economy to R1 trillion and create 2 million jobs by 2035. Green hydrogen
is not just an energy solution – it is a catalyst for industrial development, skills creation, job
creation and regional integration.”
