This year’s edition of Endeva’s ii2030 focused on supporting startups in green hydrogen in Kenya, Namibia and South Africa. The in-person co-creation workshops in each country were an essential part of the process. In early June 2023, GIZ, SANED and Endeva co-hosted the South Africa workshop in Cape Town. Twenty-four individuals representing 18 organisations co-created a systemic solution enabling startups to grasp opportunities in the country’s green hydrogen sector. After two workshop days of discussion, deliberation and co-creation, they emerged with a concept for the Green Hydrogen (GH2) Innovation Hub, a one-stop-shop for green hydrogen innovation.
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The results of the ii2030 Green Hydrogen Edition in South Africa can be downloaded here:
ii2030 GH2 in South Africa – Summary
ii2030 GH2 in South Africa – Full documentation
ii2030 GH2 in South Africa – Country Brief
Through a co-creative process, stakeholders detailed a Project Model Canvas and Roadmap to Concept Development for the hub, which will be formed into a Concept Note by the end of 2023. The Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus is well-positioned as a model for the initial conception of the hub. Features of the hub could include:
1) Incubator and accelerator programmes for startups and innovators, including developing business models, design support, pitch training, and finance.
2) GH2 research development and innovation lab
3) Enabling infrastructure for startups supporting email addresses, offices and co-creation spaces
4) Thought partnership and ideation capability
5) Positioning near a port, perhaps within Special Economic Zones (SEZs)
Organisations such as the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), GIZ, The Innovation Hub, the Energy & Water Sector Education Training Authority (EWSETA), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), Freeport Saldanha, the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research, the Research Institute for Innovation and Sustainability (RIIS), Stellenbosch University, HySA Catalysis, the National Cleaner Production Centre, Inspiring African Women, Hyena Energy and green hydrogen startups including Hydrofuel Solutions and SeaH4 were among those contributing to the process.
All relevant stakeholders will be involved in developing the concept, potentially open for feedback and contribution during a working session at the Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town on October 16 and 17.
If you are interested in contributing to the Green Hydrogen Innovation Hub and would like to be involved in the project’s planning and implementation, don’t hesitate to contact Claudia Knobloch at c.knobloch@endeva.org for more information.
The ii2030 Green Hydrogen in Africa Edition is a year-long process that began in December 2022 to help understand the existing ecosystem and explore opportunities for local startups and (digital) innovators in the green hydrogen sectors in Kenya, Namibia and South Africa. The ii2030 methodology provides local actors with a platform to voice their needs and contribute to co-creating grassroots solutions for improving the ecosystem they take part in.
This edition of ii2030 is powered by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and realised in close collaboration with the MAKE-IT programme run by the German Agency for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ).
