When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen singled out South Africa’s R105 billion Nelson Mandela Bay green-hydrogen-to-ammonia project for praise this week, she did more than name-dArchitecturalrop a major infrastructure venture. She effectively placed South Africa at the forefront of Europe’s global clean-energy ambitions.
Her remarks accompanied a dramatic expansion of the South Africa–European Union Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), with a newly announced package of almost €12 billion, more than double the previous €4.7 billion under the EU’s Global Gateway initiative.
“South Africa has the potential to become a global leader in green hydrogen and ammonia,” von der Leyen said in Brussels. “With our Team Europe partners, we are deepening this partnership, investing in clean industry, jobs, and a just transition.”
A Turning Point for Coega, and for the Continent
At the heart of this announcement lies the Coega Green Ammonia Project, located within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area in the Eastern Cape. Developed by Hive Hydrogen South Africa in collaboration with the Coega Development Corporation, the project will use wind, solar, and desalinated seawater to produce over one million tonnes of green ammonia per year by the end of the decade.
This is not a symbolic initiative. It is one of the largest green ammonia projects in the southern hemisphere, a flagship of the global hydrogen economy and a test case for how developing nations can industrialise cleanly, competitively, and inclusively.
Early designs include a 1,430 MW solar cluster and 1,880 MW of wind capacity, supplying power to massive electrolysers and ammonia synthesis facilities. The product, green ammonia, will be shipped through the Transnet, Port of Ngqura (between Jeffries Bay and Port Alfred) to markets in Europe and Asia.
Project backers claim it could generate over 20,000 jobs during construction and operation, catalysing a wider clean-tech supply chain in the Eastern Cape.
Europe’s Strategic Logic
For Brussels, the bet on South Africa serves several overlapping goals.
First, energy security. Europe’s industries and shipping sectors are desperate for low-carbon fuels, and green ammonia is a crucial component. Diversifying hydrogen imports from friendly partners like South Africa reduces dependence on fossil-based sources.
Second, raw materials and industrial alignment. South Africa holds more than 90% of global reserves of platinum-group metals (PGMs), key to electrolyser technology. Supporting hydrogen and ammonia production in-country strengthens both the EU’s supply resilience and South Africa’s downstream manufacturing capacity.
Third, the “just” in Just Energy Transition. The partnership is designed to ensure that climate action delivers social dividends: retraining workers from coal regions, supporting local SMEs, and building skills for the green economy.
“This is not charity,” one EU diplomat told Haush News. “It’s strategic cooperation — creating value on both sides of the equation.”
Promise Meets Practicality
Yet, as with most megaprojects, the gap between ambition and delivery will be measured in years and in risk management.
The Coega project still needs to secure full financial closure. While environmental authorisations and renewable permits are already in place, investors will be watching South Africa’s energy grid stability, currency volatility, and regulatory certainty closely.
Water supply and environmental impact are also sensitive issues. The project relies on desalinated seawater, a technically viable but energy-intensive process that must balance ecological sustainability with industrial demand.
Meanwhile, port and grid infrastructure require urgent modernisation to ensure that power, logistics, and export routes can support industrial-scale ammonia production. The EU’s new funding explicitly includes allocations for transmission upgrades and renewable integration, but implementation will be the ultimate test.
A Model for Just Transition — If It Works
The expanded JETP package illustrates how partnerships between the Global North and South can move beyond rhetoric. If managed well, Coega could provide a model for how developing economies harness green hydrogen not merely as an export, but as a foundation for domestic industrial renewal.
It could also show that large-scale climate finance can be both profitable and equitable, creating jobs, stimulating technology transfer, and accelerating decarbonisation.
But if execution falters, through bureaucratic inertia, poor coordination, or inequitable benefit sharing, it risks becoming another cautionary tale of “green promise, grey reality”.
The Bigger Picture
For Europe, this is about credibility. The Global Gateway strategy, initially launched as a counterweight to China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aims to mobilise €400 billion globally by 2027. Elevating South Africa’s hydrogen ambitions to the top of that agenda signals both confidence and expectation.
For South Africa, it is about momentum. Years of energy insecurity and slow industrial growth have tested national resilience. The Coega project, if realised on schedule and on budget, could demonstrate that decarbonisation is not a drag on growth, but a driver of it.
As von der Leyen put it: “South Africa’s transition is not only about cutting emissions — it’s about creating prosperity.”
The Verdict
The EU’s €12 billion leap from promise to partnership could prove transformative, for Coega, for the Eastern Cape, and for South Africa’s broader economic landscape. Yet transformation is never automatic. It will demand coordination, transparency, and unwavering political will on both continents.
If that alignment holds, this could be remembered as the moment when South Africa stopped merely talking about green hydrogen and started exporting it.
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