Kenya is accelerating its entry into the global green hydrogen race with a KSh 17 billion investment by Kenya Electricity Generating Company to develop a 100 MW green hydrogen plant at the geothermal-rich Olkaria complex in Naivasha.
The project positions Kenya as one of Africa’s earliest movers in large scale green hydrogen production and signals a broader shift from exporting raw renewable power to manufacturing low carbon industrial fuels and fertilisers domestically.
The planned facility will use electrolysis powered by geothermal electricity from the Olkaria fields to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, producing what is widely regarded as one of the cleanest forms of hydrogen. The project is expected to cost approximately USD 132 million and is backed by concessional financing from the German government, including a €60 million loan package and debt cancellation support.
KenGen’s hydrogen ambitions are anchored in Kenya’s growing renewable energy advantage. The country already generates roughly 90 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources, largely geothermal, wind and hydropower, and is targeting a fully green grid by 2030. That clean electricity base gives Kenya a competitive edge in producing green hydrogen, a process that requires enormous amounts of low carbon power.
The hydrogen produced at Olkaria is expected to feed downstream industries through the production of ammonia, methanol and fertiliser. Kenya currently imports large volumes of nitrogen fertiliser and industrial methanol, making the project strategically important for energy security, industrial development and foreign exchange savings.
Under the emerging model, KenGen will focus on hydrogen production infrastructure while private sector players are expected to develop associated fertiliser manufacturing facilities, creating a public private partnership ecosystem around the hydrogen economy.
The project also forms part of Kenya’s broader national hydrogen strategy launched in 2023 in collaboration with the European Union. The roadmap prioritises domestic industrial use before export markets, with early focus areas including fertiliser substitution, industrial feedstocks and clean manufacturing.
Momentum around the initiative has intensified over the past year. In May 2025, KenGen formally unveiled plans for the hydrogen plant, while Germany simultaneously opened talks with Kenya aimed at addressing regulatory uncertainty slowing hydrogen investment. By late 2025, the project was increasingly framed as both an industrialisation strategy and a tool for stabilising Kenya’s electricity system amid growing demand pressures.
In February 2026, regional energy analysts began describing the project as potentially transformative for Kenya’s industrial economy, particularly if paired with expanded geothermal development and export oriented green manufacturing.
Kenya further reinforced its ambitions in May 2026 during the 4th Hydrogen Symposium, where government and industry leaders positioned the country as a future African powerhouse in green hydrogen production.
Beyond the domestic market, the project reflects a wider geopolitical shift as European partners seek reliable clean energy alliances with African countries rich in renewable resources. Germany’s backing of Kenya’s hydrogen ambitions is tied to a broader climate finance push announced during the Africa Climate Summit, where Berlin pledged major support for renewable energy investment across the continent.
If successful, the Olkaria project could place Kenya at the forefront of Africa’s emerging hydrogen economy and redefine the role of geothermal energy beyond electricity generation into low carbon industrial production.
