The African Development Bank is supporting Mauritania in advancing its green hydrogen ambitions through the Africa Energy Transition Catalyst and the Africa Energy Sector Technical Assistance Program (AESTAP), under the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s sustainable energy transition.
As part of this support, a high-level validation workshop was held in Nouakchott on April 14–15, 2026, to review and finalize auction procedures for green hydrogen and its derivatives. The workshop forms part of AfDB’s “Support to Mauritania Green Hydrogen Sector Development Programme,” marking the Bank’s first dedicated technical assistance initiative focused on green hydrogen in Africa.
The programme aims to strengthen the institutional and regulatory capacity of Mauritania’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to structure and scale the green hydrogen sector by establishing a competitive auction framework, developing legal and regulatory foundations, preparing standardized bidding documents, and creating an implementation roadmap.
AfDB Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation, Wale Shonibare, said Mauritania is positioning itself as a future green hydrogen leader in Africa, with the Bank supporting the development of the regulatory and institutional structures required to attract private investment and accelerate industrial transformation.
Mauritania’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum stated that the country is committed to building a transparent and investor-friendly green hydrogen ecosystem, leveraging its renewable energy potential to drive industrial growth, job creation, and long-term economic value.
The validation workshop was preceded by technical capacity-building sessions focused on auction design for green ammonia and green steel projects, hydrogen infrastructure planning, and financial structuring of green hydrogen and power-to-X projects, with a focus on risk allocation and investment readiness.
More than 25 senior representatives from key government institutions participated in the workshop, including ministries responsible for energy, environment, state domains, and ports, along with national industrial and hydrocarbon companies, highlighting broad institutional commitment to the sector’s development.
AfDB Project Task Manager Freda Opoku described the workshop as a major milestone in translating Mauritania’s green hydrogen strategy into a competitive and bankable procurement model capable of attracting private capital.
Mauritania has set an ambitious target of producing 12.5 million tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2035 and is a member of the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance alongside Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, and South Africa.
The feedback from the workshop will be incorporated into the final auction framework, paving the way for operationalizing Mauritania’s green hydrogen procurement strategy and positioning the country as a frontier market for large-scale green hydrogen development in Africa.
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