South Africa’s green hydrogen strategy gets financial boost

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Unlocking the hydrogen economy in Africa
Image source: DNV

South Africa’s green hydrogen economy is poised to receive grant funding to the tune of US $45 million from the German government for its development.

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele unveiled the country’s plans to develop its green hydrogen economy at Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape. He shared the plan during the green hydrogen stakeholder engagement on Monday.

According to Mondli, South Africa’s potential in the production of green hydrogen can be catalytic for economic growth and job creation in the aftermath of COVID-19.

“South Africa can maximise the potential of green hydrogen by following a dual strategy entailing maximising the export potential of green hydrogen derivative products in the short-term and using green hydrogen as an enabler for domestic, industrial decarbonisation and attracting hard-to-abate industries to relocate to South Africa in the medium term. Both strategies would be underpinned by localisation,” Gungubele said.

Over the past 12 months, Infrastructure South Africa (ISA) has been working with the Northern Cape and Gauteng Provincial Governments to develop catalytic green hydrogen projects that will underpin provincial green hydrogen strategies with the Northern Cape being the production hub and Gauteng being the domestic demand hub.

The two provincial governments have already signed three memoranda for the production of green hydrogen including:

The memorandum of agreement between the Northern Cape Provincial Government and Sasol; for Sasol to be the anchor developer of the planned Boegoebaai Green H2 SEZ; A memorandum of agreement between Northern Cape Provincial Government and the Port of Rotterdam (PoR) for the PoR to act as a demand aggregator for green hydrogen into Europe; and A memorandum of agreement between the Gauteng Provincial Government and Sasol for Sasol to develop green hydrogen production facilities in Gauteng aimed at decarbonising domestic industry

The Minister also announced that the German ministry would be supporting the project with US $ 14.2 million in funding being one part of a total of US $45 million in grant funding that has been committed for the promotion of South Africa’s green hydrogen economy

The German government through its H2Global initiative has created a sustainable aviation fuel market trading platform which is intended to provide funding to green hydrogen products globally.

South Africa has the potential to become a global sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) hub due to its renewable endowment and Fisher-Tropsch technology capabilities. Sasol is working with a number of local and international partners on a pioneering sustainable aviation fuel project at the Sasol Secunda facility.

Minister Gungubele confirmed that the Investment and Infrastructure Office submitted a letter of support to H2Global for the Sasol Consortium SAF project. “The project is catalytic in nature and has the potential to contribute to a just transition,” he said.

Green hydrogen is produced through low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy. It is seen to play a big role in decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors like aviation, steel and cement industries and heavy-duty transport and maritime.

Global demand for green hydrogen-based products such as ammonia and synthetic jet fuels is growing as part of efforts to achieve net zero emissions. “Global green hydrogen demand could reach 530 million tons by 2050, displacing roughly 10.4 billion barrels of oil equivalent – around 37% of pre-pandemic global oil production,” Gungubele said in his address.

The Africa Energy Indaba Conference (AEI) event set to take place from 1st to 3rd March 2022 will see attendees have the unique opportunity to avail themselves of panel discussion six, entitled “Green Hydrogen: Better than Hot Air?”

Now in its 14th year, AEI combines the hybrid model of virtual discussion and debate with an on-site in-person Exhibition (1-2 March 2022) at the CITCC in Cape Town.

Could hydrogen become a game-changer within the energy space, and what will it take to become a viable alternative, considering Africa’s unique characteristics? The event will seek to answer this question and many more.

READ: Unlocking the hydrogen economy in Africa

 

 

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