Climate Fund Managers hits R3B first close for South Africa green hydrogen fund
What's the deal? Climate Fund ManagersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has reached first close of its SA H2 FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → with R3 billion in commitments, targeting green hydrogen and energy transition projects across Southern Africa. Also known as Climate Investor Three South Africa, the blended finance private equity fund is chasing a R12 billion final close by mid-2028.
Who's backing it? Development tranche commitments came from Invest InternationalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the European CommissionDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through its Global Gateway strategy, and the Industrial Development Corporation of South AfricaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. Equity commitments came from the Public Investment CorporationDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → on behalf of the Government Employees Pension FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Sanlam Life, Invest International, and the European Commission. The Development Bank of Southern AfricaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is also supporting the fund.
What's the endgame? The fund will invest across the green hydrogen value chain — production, downstream products like green ammonia and green methanol, and projects that decarbonise emissions-intensive industries. It combines public and private capital in one platform, using public funding to reduce project risk and attract institutional investors.
Why now? The first close reflects rising investor confidence in green hydrogen as a fix for hard-to-decarbonise sectors including steel, fertiliser and chemicals. "Green hydrogen has a critical role to play," said Andrew Johnstone, chief executive officer of Climate Fund Managers.
Two flagship projects have already signed development funding agreements: Green Efuels ProducersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, developing South Africa's first waste-water-to-green-methanol plant in Gauteng, and the Hive Hydrogen Coega Green Ammonia ProjectDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the country's first large-scale green ammonia facility.
The signal: The fund builds on Climate Investor One and Two, which mobilised more than $2 billion for renewable energy, water, waste, and ocean infrastructure across emerging markets. With the firm also expanding into private credit via the GAIA Climate Loan FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — targeting a $1.48 billion close in 2027 — the R3 billion first close underlines how blended finance is becoming the default route to scaling industrial decarbonisation in emerging markets.
Read more: Green Building Africa
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
