When discussing sustainability, sustainable development of emerging economies can often be overlooked. While countries around the world reach towards net zero emissions, bi-lateral ties between nations with an understanding of sustainable growth are vital to form bonds that aid us to reach our climate protection goals, while supporting emerging economies.
With an ever-growing urgency for effective climate protection, finding solutions to reduce carbon emissions rapidly is vital for nations to reach their climate goals. To discuss PtX as one such solution, the PtX Hub welcomed a South African delegation of 25 people from the Northern Cape Province to Berlin on May 19.
Strenghtening ties between South Africa and Germany
The primary goal was to increasingly join forces work together on the market uptake of PtX products and green hydrogen. With a keen interest in paving the way for to upscale PtX production capacities to an industrial scale, the South African delegation spoke of the importance of the comprehensive EESG sustainability framework (E-cological, E-conomic, S-ocial and G-overnance) to guide sustainability considerations, particularly in the case of South Africa’s rapidly advancing energy transition.
Private sectors representatives also discussed in detail the hurdles that need to be addressed in each sector to attain a more sustainable energy transition to green hydrogen and PtX products. Key issues included Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAFs) blends, the high demand for PtL and the potential of a ‘book and claim’ approach as a potential supporting mechanism.
Jointly discussing the transition with PtX in South African and German industries
The aviation sector pledged to reduce CO2 emissions to net zero within a time frame of 2040 to 2050, alongside showing a keen interest in transitioning to SAFs. Hence, Power-to-Liquid was a topic of great interest in the discussions. With pledges to move to greener, sustainable forms of fuels, the representatives of the aviation sector present showed great interest and promise to work towards a permanent shift towards sustainable air travel.
Representatives from the maritime transport sector in South Africa and Germany discussed their developments towards a sustainable energy transition as well, highlighting the efforts of the public and private sector in creating a global green hydrogen hub in Hamburg, for safeguarding jobs and creating bilateral ties with nations like South Africa for greater cooperation schemes.
Representatives from Allianz Global Investors and NOW GmbH presented steps that they are taking to shift to PtX and green hydrogen. Notably, finance experts highlighted the significant investment opportunities at hand and options for loans and grants for supporting catalytic projects.
The Presidency and the North Cape Delegation shared their appreciation for this event as an initial contact and their wish to further foster bilateral ties between South Africa and Germany. The delegation trip assured the urgent need for accelerating the PtX market uptake to make climate neutrality a reality.
