Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation has announced that construction on the country’s new Hydrogen Valley Corridor project has commenced.
Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies provide a clean alternative to power, with hydrogen allowing energy to be stored and transferred in a useful form.
Using hydrogen as an energy carrier might help South Africa reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, which contribute to climate change, while also lowering its dependency on imported oil.
Other nations have employed hydrogen valleys to promote clean developing technologies and their economic feasibility in favor of emissions reduction.
Nzimande said the Hydrogen Valley Corridor covers three hubs with a high concentration of hydrogen demand and access to green hydrogen, one in Johannesburg Hub, one in Mogalakwena/Limpopo, and one in Durban/Richards Bay, in his annual budget address.
“To kick-start the hydrogen economy, the research selected nine catalytic initiatives across the transportation, industrial, and construction sectors.” The implementation of these initiatives will cost around $1.2 billion.
“In terms of socio-economic benefits for South Africans, the South African Hydrogen Valley corridor could create 14,000 to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs per year by 2030, and potentially contribute $3.9 billion to $8.8 billion (R60.2 billion to R123 billion) to GDP through direct and indirect contributions by 2050,” he said.
The projected hydrogen valley in South Africa will begin at Mokopane in Limpopo, where platinum group metals (PGMs) are mined, and stretch through Johannesburg’s industrial and commercial corridor to Durban.
The hydrogen valley will function as an industrial center, bringing together numerous hydrogen uses from around the country to establish a cohesive hydrogen ecosystem.
Jobs
According to a study focused on the valley released at the end of 2021, up to 32,000 jobs might be added by 2030 — with these estimates based only on early investments. Beyond these estimates, fuel cell investment might help create more jobs, according to the government.
“This job growth can be seen across the entire hydrogen value chain, from resource sourcing, such as water resource management and platinum mining, to production, such as electrolyzer development, to transportation, such as pipeline and trucking, to storage, such as liquefaction, and finally applications, such as fuel cell manufacturing.”
“Jobs are available across the whole hydrogen value chain, including research and development, engineering, maintenance, training, and outreach.” This job development might also help with the fair transition; for example, occupations that need workforce training will place male and female workers on an equal footing.”
Costs
According to Bloomberg in May, South Africa will need to attract $14 billion in investment to build a significant green hydrogen economy, citing the chairman of the government’s climate finance task committee.
According to Daniel Mminele, the task team’s leader, an initial investment of $1 billion would be required to establish an industry capable of exporting 20,000 tons of climate-friendly fuel yearly, with a further $13 billion required to reach the 270,000-ton objective.
Mminele, a former central banker, was chosen this year to finalize terms of an offer of $8.5 billion in climate funding from some of the world’s wealthiest nations to assist South Africa in reducing its coal dependency.
The $8.5 billion investment package was put together by the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, and the European Union in order to accelerate the transition to green energy.
Nonetheless, he stated that part of the funds will be used to boost South Africa’s green hydrogen and electric car businesses.
“South Africa can achieve improved supply security by managing the retirement of coal-fired power units and swiftly increasing other energy sources,” he added.
“Additionally, investments in green hydrogen and electric cars are critical complements.”
