In this opinion article, Royal HaskoningDHV advisory group for energy transition director Gladys Nabagala writes that South Africa has significant potential to stimulate its economy by building a hydrogen export economy.

As South Africa grapples with ongoing blackouts because power utility Eskom's power station fleet cannot cope with demand or upkeep maintenance, the country is also faced by global pressures to reduce its carbon footprint and embrace renewable energy resources.
This pressure has come with the offer of help, though, with the country securing R131-billion in funding offers at the recent COP26 event to transition towards green energy.

However, even with the recent raising of the threshold for distributed generation to 100 MW, it’s going to take time for projects of any meaningful scale to be commissioned and relieve pressure from the national grid.

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In addition to solar and wind energy resources, which South Africa has in abundance, discussions have emerged around hydrogen – particularly green hydrogen – and what this could mean for South Africa’s carbon footprint, and its economy.

South Africa is one of the best positioned countries in the world to produce emissions-free green hydrogen, in which renewable energy is used to power the water electrolysis process through which hydrogen is harvested. This is thanks to the country’s extensive solar and wind resources, and the fact that we have a long coastline with access to water that could be used in the process. These factors position South Africa well to supply countries seeking green hydrogen, but that don’t have the natural and renewable resources to produce them, such as Japan and countries in the European Union.

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The world’s first hydrogen fueling of a commercial marine vessel was successfully completed on November 18 at All American Marine shipyard, and the vessel is now beginning its final sea trials before delivery. The event is monumental step towards decarbonization of the worldwide shipping industry and showcases the United States’ energy transition away from fossil fuels.

The new 75-passenger ferry, called the Sea Change and managed by SWITCH Maritime, received hydrogen into its 242 kg tanks on the upper deck. It uses that hydrogen in fuel cells producing electricity to power electric motors for distances up to 300 nautical miles and speeds up to 20 knots — similar capabilities as diesel-powered vessels — with the added benefits of zero exhaust smoke or other emissions and very little vibration and noise.

The fuel loaded in the vessel’s tanks includes green hydrogen, produced in California by an electrolyzer powered with renewable solar power, which results in zero carbon emissions in the production of the fuel as well.

The fueling follows the regulatory approval in October by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) of the hydrogen powertrain and storage systems onboard the Sea Change, representing the culmination of years of cooperation with the USCG focused on safely integrating hydrogen power and storage systems on passenger vessels. The achievement of this significant milestone unlocks the possibility of many future deployments of similar hydrogen power systems on all vessel types — including ocean-going containerships.
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Zero Emission Industries (ZEI), formerly Golden Gate Zero Emission Marine, is responsible for the design and development of the maritime hydrogen and fuel cell system as well as the vessel’s unique fueling system that allows it to be fueled directly from a hydrogen truck, and was responsible for the successful regulatory approvals of all hydrogen-related aspects onboard.

For the fueling during sea trials, SWITCH has engaged West Coast Clean Fuels (WCCF) to develop and permit the end-to-end clean fuel supply chains that will deliver hydrogen to the Sea Change, as well as BayoTech, for high-pressure gaseous hydrogen delivery to Sea Change during sea trials in Washington using transport trailer-to-ship transfer.

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LARGE-scale solar hydrogen production through water splitting using a powder photocatalyst is considered one of the most promising methods of producing sustainable fuels in the future. In 2018, this research group demonstrated that water-splitting photocatalytic panel reactor can be scaled up to 1 m2 in size without compromising the solar water splitting activity of the photo catalyst. However, large-scale separation and collection of solar hydrogen beyond the laboratory scale had never been realized. It was necessary to review the design of the photocatalytic panel reactor and develop a system to safely separate the gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen in an outdoor environment.

The joint research project involving NEDO, ARPChem, The University of Tokyo, Fujifilm, TOTO, Mitsubishi Chemical, Meiji University and Shinshu University (who was responsible for the photocatalytic water-splitting technology) demonstrated that in a large-scale outdoor area of 100m2 it is possible to split water using a powder photo catalyst and solar rays to retrieve solar hydrogen from the generated hydrogen-oxygen gas. More rigorous safety tests are still needed, but if a properly designed system is used, the highly explosive hydrogen-oxygen gas can be safely handled for long periods. Therefore, a system for producing a large amount of solar hydrogen at low costs through the improvement of the visible light responsive photo catalyst, the photo catalyst panel, and the gas separation module is within reach,

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Achieving this feat required a lot of technological advancement and collaboration of experts from various fields. The development and demonstration of stable hydrogen separation of the moist hydrogen oxygen mixed gas regardless of the weather and sunshine conditions is an unprecedented breakthrough technology that is currently under patent review. Shinshu University’s Associate Professor Takashi Hisatomi of the Research Initiative for Supra-Materials who is an expert on photo catalysis for water-splitting and hydrogen production states that “by demonstrating the entire process from hydrogen generation to separation on the world’s largest scale, the realization of a solar hydrogen production system based on water splitting reaction using powdered photo catalysts has become more realistic and will be better understood by the general public.”

The photo catalyst in this study uses ultraviolet light. A highly efficient visible light-responsive photo catalyst with a practicality level of 5% or higher solar energy conversion efficiency will need to be realized for real-world implementation. The group is also working to lower the cost and expand the scale of the photo catalyst panel. The current panel reactor is robust, but it is necessary to develop an inexpensive reactor that can be mass-produced while maintaining durability and safety. The separation performance and energy efficiency of the gas separation process needs improvement because the separation membrane used was ready-made and not designed for this gas separation module. The separation performance of hydrogen from hydrogen-oxygen mixed gas was not sufficient. The separation process has no precedent, so there is no comparative example which means there is still room for improvement.

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Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has welcomed the South African government’s announced intention to establish a dedicated green grid, electrolyser park and green hydrogen-related special economic zone (SEZ), in the Northern Cape.

A statement issued by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) notes that the Northern Cape Hydrogen Strategy, with anchor investor Sasol, was announced to the international investment community during the COP26 climate change summit, which is under way, in Glasgow, Scotland.
Creecy says the South African Hydrogen Society Roadmap envisions the country moving from research and development to manufacturing and commercialisation of hydrogen products and services, contributing to job creation and skills development, particularly in marginalised sectors of society.

The Minister states that the Northern Cape hydrogen SEZ development aligns with the DFFE’s declaration of the expanded western Strategic Energy Corridor in the Northern Cape.

“Over the past few years, the department undertook strategic environmental assessments to identify renewable energy development zones and strategic energy corridors, in which large-scale grid infrastructure expansion could be incentivised.

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“This was done to proactivity identify environmental sensitivities and assist in orientating infrastructure development away from areas of high environmental sensitivity, allowing for a streamlined environmental authorisation process which speeds up development, while maintaining the highest environmental protection.”

Creecy adds that, through this process, the DFFE has heeded the call by President Cyril Ramaphosa to cut red tape and to halve the authorisation timeframe for transmission-scale electricity grid infrastructure and reduce the timeframe for electricity grid development from seven to three years by allowing a pre-negotiated route to be submitted for authorisation – which significantly simplified the servitude negotiation process.

Accordingly, Creecy says, her department is committed to supporting this important initiative for the country and looks forward to working with the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Environmental Affairs, Rural Development and Land Reform to make it a reality.

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​A world-first green submarine project will soon get underway after a proposal to power an autonomous underwater vessel with green hydrogen won a share of a United Kingdom £23 million funding program.

Start-up company Oceanways is to build a prototype of a zero emission submarine initially designed to deliver cargo in a twenty-foot container between Glasgow and Belfast. 

As the green submarines move underwater, they will also filter microplastics and microfibres out of the ocean, and collect information and data on ocean health and acidification via a number of onboard sensors. 

“Oceanways has assembled a world-class team to pioneer #SubZero by creating the new market of net positive underwater transport systems with zero-emission cargo submarines as an innovative tool to decarbonise shipping and clean up our ocean”, Oceanways founder and chief executive Dhruv Boruah said.
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The UK government is committed to commercialising zero emissions shipping by 2025 and establishing the country as a world leader in clean maritime.

Fifty-five projects shared in the first round of green maritime research and demonstration funding.
 
“As a proud island nation built on our maritime prowess, it is only right that we lead by example when it comes to decarbonising the sector and building back greener”, the UK’s transport secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement.

He said the projects funded “showcase the best of British innovation”.

The announcement was made during London International Shipping Week, which began with the UK calling on the maritime sector to achieve “absolute zero” emissions by 2050. 

In April, the UK government legislated new emissions targets, for the first time including the country’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions.

“Jet Zero and greener maritime” is one of the points in Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution, unveiled in November last year. 

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The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched England’s first hydrogen double-decker buses. The 20 new buses are the first of their kind to be launched in England; the new hydrogen fuel cell double decker buses are first being introduced on route 7 between East Acton and Oxford Circus.

The buses were manufactured by Wrightbus in Northern Ireland, and the gas cylinders are manufactured by Luxfer in Nottingham. The hydrogen for the buses is currently being produced at Air Liquide’s plant in Runcorn, harnessing waste hydrogen as a by-product from an industrial chlor-alkali plant. Oxford-based Ryze Hydrogen is responsible for transporting the fuel to the fueling station. From 2023, the hydrogen will be even greener as it will be produced by electrolysis powered by a direct connection to an offshore windfarm.

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A new fueling station completed by Danish engineering firm Nel Hydrogen, in collaboration with multinational consultancy firm Linesight, will top up each hydrogen fuel cell bus just once per day in as little as five minutes.

In addition to around £6 million (US$8.3 million) of funding from TfL, more than £5 million (US$6.9 million) of funding has been provided by European bodies—by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), an executive agency of the European Commission—as well as £1 million (US$1.4 million) from the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles.

A new fueling station completed by Danish engineering firm Nel Hydrogen, in collaboration with multinational consultancy firm Linesight, will top up each hydrogen fuel cell bus just once per day in as little as five minutes.

In addition to around £6 million (US$8.3 million) of funding from TfL, more than £5 million (US$6.9 million) of funding has been provided by European bodies—by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking, and the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), an executive agency of the European Commission—as well as £1 million (US$1.4 million) from the Office of Zero Emission Vehicles.

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The rarity of platinum, combined with a decline in supply and overwhelming demand, is a formula for a build-up of a “perfect storm”, says independent precious metals consultant Dr David Davis, who says that this will lead to significant upward pressure on the price of platinum, to which investors have already begun to react.

Given that platinum plays a critical role in the reduction of global warming and its essential role in diverse industrial and medical applications, global mine supply of the precious metal has grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 1.7% between 1990 and 2020.

In 2019, global mine supply was about 6.1-million ounces, according to research done by science and chemicals company Johnson Matthey (JM). Mine supply is, however, not without risk, as it depends heavily on the South African platinum group metals (PGMs) industry, which supplies about 72% of global platinum.

Global mine supply between 2006 and 2019 declined by a CAGR of 1%, while South African platinum supply declined by a CAGR of 1.4% mainly owing to the historical evolution of the mining mix ratio of the PGM reefs in South Africa

In a presentation authored by Davis, he notes that the PGMs industry has also been “starved” of expansion and ore reserve replacement capital for a number of years, though miners are now beginning to invest in reserve replacement.

While this quantum of investment is unlikely to stave off the decline in platinum supply, Davis notes that growth in platinum recycling from 2011 to 2020 has also remained relatively flat at an average of 1.2-million ounces.

“The quantum of platinum autocatalysts recovered by recycling is not expected to grow [up to] 2025 as platinum loadings are historically lower in light vehicles that are about to be scrapped, given the average age of light-duty vehicles being around 12 years.”

In comparison, Davis says the quantum of palladium autocatalysts recovered by recycling is expected to climb to over four-million ounces by 2025 from about two-million ounces at present.

This observation is important in that Davis says platinum secondary recycling supply will not likely support the expected decline in primary mine supply, thereby tightening platinum supply in a climate of ever-increasing demand.

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​Anglo American announces a collaboration agreement to complete a feasibility study to develop a “hydrogen valley” anchored in the platinum group metals-rich Bushveld geological area in South Africa. Spearheaded by South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the collaboration agreement also includes energy and services company ENGIE, the South African National Development Institute (SANEDI) and clean energy solutions provider Bambili Energy (Bambili).

The proposed hydrogen valley will stretch approximately 835 kilometres from Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals (PGMs) mine near Mokopane in Limpopo province in the north of South Africa, along the industrial and commercial corridor to Johannesburg and to the south coast at Durban.

This collaboration follows the launch in 2020 of the South African Hydrogen Society Roadmap, aimed at integrating hydrogen into the economy by capitalising on the country’s PGMs resources and renewable energy potential to revitalise and decarbonise key industrial sectors. The study will be conducted by ENGIE Impact and will identify tangible opportunities to build hydrogen hubs and explore the potential for green hydrogen production and supply at scale.

Natascha Viljoen, CEO of Anglo American’s PGMs business, commented: “The transition to a low carbon world is an opportunity to drive the development of cleaner technologies, create new industries and employment, and improve people’s lives. Anglo American was an early supporter of the global potential for a hydrogen economy, recognising its role in enabling the shift to greener energy and cleaner transport. Our integrated approach includes investing in new technologies, supporting entrepreneurial projects and advocating for policy frameworks that enable a supportive long-term investment environment for hydrogen to deliver that potential.”

The regional PGMs industry will be central to such a hydrogen valley, with PGMs playing an important role both in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) electrolysis used to produce hydrogen at scale and in fuel cells themselves.

Anglo American is already investing in renewable hydrogen production technology at its Mogalakwena PGMs mine and in the development of hydrogen-powered fuel cell mine haul trucks – the world’s largest to run on hydrogen.

Dr Phil Mjwara, DSI Director-General, said: “The Department’s hydrogen valley partnership with Anglo American, Bambili Energy and ENGIE is an example of leveraging investments made in the Hydrogen South Africa Programme to create mechanisms for the uptake of publicly financed intellectual property. The hydrogen valley is among the projects that will be implemented in partnership with the private sector to support the Platinum Valley Initiative, which is aimed at supporting small, medium and micro enterprises (SMME) to take advantage of opportunities in the green economy in support of a just transition.”

The public-private partnership is aligned to the Government’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plans for South Africa, with science, technology and innovation playing a key role in supporting the country’s plans to revitalise its economy.

Sebastien Arbola, ENGIE Executive Vice President in charge of Thermal Generation and Energy Supply activities, said: “ENGIE is delighted to be part of the hydrogen valley study. We are keen to share our knowledge and expertise encompassing the entire hydrogen value chain to accelerate hydrogen solutions’ deployment in South Africa and beyond. We already have a demonstration project under way to supply the hydrogen for the world’s first hydrogen mining truck being developed by Anglo American at the Mogalakwena PGMs mine.

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Even though society had begun to move towards battery electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell technology would be the real disrupter of the electric vehicle market, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman predicted on Tuesday.

Sibanye-Stillwater is the world’s largest primary producer of platinum, which is a key ingredient of fuel cells.

In a main stage address to the 2020 Investing in African Mining Indaba, Froneman described fuel cell technology as being “not too far away”.

“Car producers are already producing cars with fuel cells and fuel cells are going to be an important part of the Olympic Games in Japan. We just saw that U2 had a concert that was powered by fuel cells. Fuel cells are going to be the real disruptive technology and I’m talking about the hydrogen economy,” he said.

Sibanye-Stillwater is also the second largest primary producer of palladium and the third largest producer of gold (on a gold-equivalent basis), as well as a significant producer of rhodium. It is also the leading global recycler and processor of spent platinum group metals (PGMs) catalytic converter materials.

A week ago, the company achieved seven-million fatality-free shifts, which is unparalleled in the South African deep-level gold-mining industry and indicates going 500 days without a fatality.

“It is far safer underground in a deep-level gold mine in our company than it is driving on the road and we’ll continue to push the boundaries,” he said.

Froneman described PGMs as an integral part of positively influencing climate change.

“If you look at their primary uses in the automotive industry, they clean up the air by curtailing emissions. In terms of renewable energy, they play a key role. We are as a company very focused on the environment,” he said.

The Stillwater operations in the US are on the border of the Yellowstone National Park.

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The cost of producing hydrogen gas with renewables is likely to plummet in the coming decades, making one of the most radical technologies for reducing greenhouse gases economical.

That’s the conclusion of an analysis by BloombergNEF, which said the most abundant element is likely to play a growing role in reducing pollution from power producers and industry.

The findings add to the potential for widespread use of hydrogen. While the gas has been hailed for decades as a carbon-free energy source, the cost and difficulty of making it has confined it mainly to niches like fueling rockets and helping upgrade blends of oil.

“Once the industry scales up, renewable hydrogen could be produced from wind or solar power for the same price as natural gas in most of Europe and Asia,” Kobad Bhavnagri, BNEF’s head of special projects, said in the report on Wednesday. “These production costs would make green gas affordable and puts the prospects for a truly clean economy in sight.”
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If produced on a large scale, hydrogen could feed into a range of applications, fueling long-haul transport and steelmaking and the manufacture of cement. Each of those industries requires the sort of energy hydrogen packs, delivering temperatures hot enough to melt metal and stone.

Those industries that are finding it difficult to remove emissions. Hydrogen can also be stored, shipped and used to produce electricity or fed into fuel cells that are increasingly appearing in cars and small power plants.

BNEF looked at how to generate hydrogen from renewable sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. It also examined how the gas that’s produced can be stored to provide energy at times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.

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