The Africa-EU-China Hydrogen Industry Cycle

Co-hosted by the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) and the Institute for China-Europe Studies (ICES)

On October 26, 2025, the European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS) and the Institute for China-Europe Studies (ICES) had the pleasure of hosting an expert discussion on The Africa-EU-China Hydrogen Industry Cycle.

Against the backdrop of the adoption of green hydrogen as a pivotal component of the global race to carbon neutrality, industrialization, job creation and the broader commitment to sustainability, this event in the format of a closed-door expert roundtable discussion will highlight Africa’s significant potential for green hydrogen production. With the aim of helping establish partnership models among public and private stakeholders from Africa, EU and China, the discussion will focus on challenges and opportunities, as well as the required resources and finances in the planning and implementation phases of related projects.

The event follows the European Union’s announcement in May 2022 of its objective to produce 20 million tons of green hydrogen by 2030 (including half to be imported), as well as the presentation in November 2022 of a report commissioned by the European Investment Bank and CGLU Africa calling for 50 million tons of green hydrogen to be produced in Africa by 2035. The roundtable discussion precedes the COP 28 in Abu Dhabi where Africa, the EU and China will need to provide further commitments on climate change policies while upholding the fight for common prosperity and poverty reduction.

There is now a strong case that the twin objective of decarbonization and (re)industrialization of both Africa and Europe – and the expected benefits in terms of economic development and mitigation of migrations – can be enabled by the combination of hydrogen infrastructures and industrial hubs leveraging mass-scale competitive green hydrogen supply from renewable-rich Africa, building on the Chinese industry’s considerable competitive solar PV and electrolyzer capacity – and its stated intention to invest in such capacity in both Africa and Europe.

The roundtable featured two workshops, respectively on Resources & Production and on Industry & Finance. They consisted of short presentations by panel members, interactive exchanges between panel members, and Q&A sessions with participants. For further information, find the agenda below. Further, you can read more about the EIB Study on Africa’s Green Hydrogen Potential here.

Agenda