Cape Town - South Africa is ready to be a strategic partner in the green hydrogen economy.
So said Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) Minister Ebrahim Patel, who was joined by stakeholders in the country’s industrial and energy sectors as well as investors from around the world in Cape Town.
It appears that the government is going all-out to make investing in South Africa’s green hydrogen potential as attractive (and easy) as possible to global investors.
Tuesday’s green hydrogen discussion formed part of an investment forum at the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town this week.
Green hydrogen has been hailed as a critical component in global transitions towards low-carbon and climate-resilient societies.
Patel said the development of Green Hydrogen presented South Africa with a unique opportunity to capitalise on its mineral base and expand its manufacturing capacity to meet the requirements of the green industrial revolution that was taking place globally.
Patel added that the DTIC was looking at ways to make investing in South Africa easy so that investors did not have to follow multiple regulatory requirements.
A co-ordination challenge was for different departments of national government to work in a more integrated way.
“We are doing a bit of work with Invest South Africa to pilot, in the renewable energy space, bringing a one-stop shop that investors can use, as well as others in areas of energy where there is significant regulatory requirements,” Patel said.
Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, head of Infrastructure South Africa, said the conversations needed to include ordinary citizens to show the benefits and how the green industrial revolution could transform lives and communities with more job opportunities.
“One example of what green hydrogen means to ordinary people is the steel mill facility in Saldanha Bay, which has been shut down because of the high cost of electricity and the inefficiency of ports to get the product out of the country.
“With the green hydrogen collaboration between Sasol, ArcelorMittal South Africa and Freeport Saldanha Industrial Development Zone, we are now in the process of restarting the factory to assist in establishing a green hydrogen hub in Saldanha Bay,” Ramokgopa said.
Higher Education, Science and Innovation Deputy Minister Buti Manamela said that to facilitate the development of the green hydrogen economy, it was critical that learning institutions equip future generations with the necessary skills and education to see the sector succeed by enabling a workforce to realise the full potential of green hydrogen in the country.
He said this was already being done in South African universities.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za