Power-to-X Allocation Study for South Africa

Power-to-X to enable and advance the long-term transformation of South Africa’s Energy System

The study’s objective is to provide decision-makers with a high-resolution, model-based exploration of defossilisation and Power-to-X (PtX) development scenarios. It aims to identify cost-efficient transition pathways for scaling PtX production, aligning renewable energy expansion and the growing domestic and export demand for green electricity, hydrogen, ammonia, and synthetic fuels.

Key objectives of this study are:

• Identify and fill relevant knowledge gaps with a focus on PtX in existing transformation studies
• Develop coherent scenario designs through dialogue with key South African stakeholders
• Evaluate different scenarios for the expansion and use of renewable energy and PtX to cover the future energy and feedstock demands of transport, industry, residential, commercial, agriculture, and export subsectors for South Africa
• Derive insights for South Africa‘s long-term energy and defossilisation strategy
• Develop a high-resolution, multi-regional, cross-sectoral open-source model of the South African energy system for further studies

The outcome helps to explore uncertainties, assess trade-offs, and identify critical enablers for South Africa’s energy transition, ensuring alignment with its climate and green hydrogen ambitions.