Monique Vanek
South Africa and Germany signed an agreement to create a task force that will help Africa’s most industrialized nation create projects that are able to meet international demand for green hydrogen.
The joint declaration of intent signed virtually on Tuesday by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Robert Habeck, German vice chancellor and minister of economic affairs and climate action, will assist to drive the commercial viability of green hydrogen projects and infrastructure in both nations, the Ministry of Electricity said in a statement.
It will explore opportunities to support the export of green hydrogen products and PtX products that convert power to liquid or power to ammonia from South Africa to Germany and help link South African developers with German offtakers, Masopha Moshoeshoe, a green economy specialist in the South African Presidency’s investment and infrastructure office, said at a virtual briefing.
South Africa’s abundant wind and solar resources, which would be used to provide the energy to split water, and the nation’s deep capital markets have positioned it to potentially become a major producer of the green fuel, which is expected to ultimately replace natural gas.
Last week state-backed firms from the Netherlands agreed to back the creation of $1 billion green hydrogen fund for investment in South African projects, giving the country a stake in the development of an industry that’s expected to supply Europe with the green fuel.
The task force will also explore available funding mechanisms to support the ramp up of green hydrogen and PtX value chains, such as region-specific H2Global tenders for sub-Saharan Africa and identify key challenges to be tackled to support the development of the two nations’ value chains, according to the statement.
— With assistance by Paul Burkhardt/Bloomberg
