Global Clean Hydrogen Program Funding Portfolio

The Global Clean Hydrogen Program (GCHP) is a flagship Global Environment Facility (GEF-8) initiative implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The program supports developing countries to create the conditions needed to scale green hydrogen across industry and transport, helping drive industrial decarbonization in hard-to-abate sectors.

SLR’s Energy Advisory & Sustainable Finance team supported UNIDO in preparing the complete GEF Request for CEO Endorsement (RCE) packages for eight projects under the program: seven national projects were designed for Algeria, Ecuador, Egypt, Namibia, Nigeria, the Philippines, and South Africa, alongside one global coordination project.

Challenge

UNIDO needed a trusted partner to develop a portfolio of eight complex, country-specific, and GEF-compliant clean hydrogen project funding proposals within a record timeframe. This required recognized expertise in climate change mitigation, industrial decarbonization, and the preparation of geographically diverse GEF funding proposals.

The projects needed to address common barriers to green hydrogen development across partner countries, including policy and regulatory gaps, limited technical and institutional capacity, fragmented stakeholder coordination, and a shortage of bankable project opportunities. UNIDO therefore needed support to turn a broad program ambition into a coherent portfolio of credible, investment-ready projects.

Solutions

SLR was selected for our strong track record in developing complex GEF funding proposals and ability to manage technically demanding, multi-country assignments under tight deadlines. In partnership with UNIDO, we translated the goals of the GCHP into a portfolio of eight fully developed, investment-ready GEF-8 funding packages, leading the end-to-end development as UNIDO’s multi-country delivery partner. This included strategic project design, technical drafting, safeguards and gender integration, budgeting, and full proposal packaging.

For each project, SLR prepared targeted baseline assessments and project rationales grounded in national strategies, industry pathways, and stakeholder input. This enabled the team to design tailored interventions that responded to country priorities while maintaining a consistent program approach.

SLR then developed the complete RCE documentation, including:

• Results frameworks
• Detailed component-level activities
• Budgets and disbursement plans
• Monitoring & Evaluation
• Learning arrangements
• Assessments of expected economic, social, and environmental benefits

In parallel, we drafted and packaged the required annexes, including the Environmental and Social Management Plan, Gender Analysis and Action Plan, Stakeholder Engagement Plan, and Consultative Meetings Report. The team also supported co-financing mobilization by working with UNIDO, national consultants, and implementation partners to prepare and refine co-financing letters confirming partner commitments.

All eight applications were developed simultaneously and delivered within a record four-month period. SLR also supported UNIDO throughout the GEF review and approval process by addressing comments, providing technical clarifications, and helping maintain quality and consistency across the entire portfolio.

Impact

SLR supported UNIDO in preparing and submitting all eight GEF-8 RCE packages under the GCHP, securing approval for implementation by August 2025.

The approved projects secured US$11.8 million in GEF grant funding and leveraged US$176.3 million in confirmed co‑financing, creating a total financing envelope of US$188.1 million. The implementation of the project portfolio is expected to deliver 4.930 MtCO₂e in lifetime greenhouse gas emissions reductions and reach 11,806 direct beneficiaries, with a targeted 50/50 gender balance.

The portfolio was designed to create lasting market conditions for green hydrogen uptake in developing countries. It strengthens policy and regulatory frameworks, builds institutional and technical capacity, improves project preparation, and mobilizes blended public-private co-financing. Together, these actions are expected to generate a pipeline of bankable projects that support industrial decarbonization, strengthen competitiveness, and deliver wider social benefits, including skills development, job creation, and more inclusive participation of women and youth in emerging green hydrogen value chains.

Its impact is also expected to extend beyond the individual national projects. The global project provides a platform for cross-country learning and technical exchange, enabling the sharing of practical tools, policy guidance, and case studies to help partner countries accelerate implementation and replicate successful approaches.

Highlights

One Team delivery across eight projects: SLR worked closely with UNIDO, national consultants, and implementation partners across all eight projects, using weekly coordination meetings, shared templates, and a structured review process to maintain momentum, consistency, and quality throughout delivery.

Delivered at speed without compromising quality: All eight funding applications were developed in parallel and delivered to UNIDO within a record four-month timeline, enabling timely review, submission, and approval.

Specialist expertise applied across the full project cycle: The assignment brought together SLR’s expertise in GEF RCE development, hydrogen policy and certification, sustainable finance, environmental and social safeguards, gender action planning, and MEL design.

Balancing portfolio coherence with country-specific design: While the projects were developed under a common program framework, each package was tailored to national strategies, industry pathways, and stakeholder priorities, helping create a coherent but locally grounded portfolio.