ENGIE announced the signing of contracts with the South African Ministry of Science and Innovation, the National Institute for Energy Development of the South Africa and Anglo-American.
Bambili Energy has conducted a feasibility study for a facility located near the Bushveld complex and the wider “Hydrogen Valley” in Johannesburg, Mogalakwen and KwaZulu Native. The first step in the ENGIE Impact feasibility study is to identify the practical feasibility of a hydrogen power node project in this key transport and economic corridor.
The project aims to identify up to 3 central hydrogen areas with a high concentration of hydrogen and obtain green hydrogen as a hydrogen ecosystem. Subsequently, technical and economic analysis of each center will be performed to assess the business case of the identified project, map its potential positive social impact, and identify the policies and regulatory measures necessary to create the conditions for implementation.
Hydrogen is of strategic importance for South Africa. In his recent State of the Union address, President Ramaphosa highlighted South Africa’s hydrogen energy strategy, noting that after ten years of research, South Africa is preparing to produce hydrogen fuel cells. The hydrogen economy offers South Africa the opportunity to use platinum resources to develop the country’s hydrogen economy, which is worth up to $10 billion annually and uses $100 billion of export potential.
As part of the national roadmap for the second half of the year, the development of the local hydrogen economy can have a significant impact on stimulating economic activity in the region, job creation and decarbonization. This means developing new industries, exploiting the resources of platinum, and taking advantage of the promising private sector projects that are developing in this territory.
“ENGIE is delighted to be part of the ‘Hydrogen Valley’ study. We are keen to bring our global experts and knowledge encompassing the entire hydrogen value chain to accelerate Hydrogen solutions’ deployment in South Africa and beyond. We believe that renewable hydrogen is key to decarbonizing hard-to-abate industries and will play a fundamental role in the global economy of tomorrow.”
Sébastien Arbola, executive vice president
