South Africa has a strategic comparative advantage for Power-to-X development – due to its available renewable resources and land area as well as vast platinum group metals resources and experiences in producing hydrogen and Power-to-X.
With significant capacities of Fischer-Tropsch reactors on an industrial scale already installed, South Africa could be the only country able to realise defossilisation of coal liquefaction. This first mover advantage results from the necessity of this technology for hard-to-abate sectors and the demand on a large scale from the global market. One dynamic sector with vast potentials is national and global shipping.
The World Bank currently provides support to conduct two pre-feasibility studies in the port of Saldanha and the Boegoebaai development project. The studies explore spatial, technical, and economic options to produce green hydrogen and convert it into ammonia for export, industrial use, and for regional supply as a marine fuel. Funded by the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) and undertaken for the Western Cape and Northern Cape Provincial Governments, the study is endorsed by the Presidential Climate Commission (PCC). Freeport Saldanha and NCEDA act as the executing agencies for the port of Saldanha and the Boegoebaai development project respectively.
On May 3rd, the World Bank organised a consultation workshop that brought together stakeholders and decision makers in Cape Town to discuss the results of the pre-feasibility studies. Green Hydrogen South Africa (GHSA) and The Presidency invited to an evening networking reception on Green Hydrogen and South Africa’s Maritime Economy. The event was opened by Prof Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity. During his speech, Minister Ramokgopa emphasised South Africa’s potential for synthetic green maritime fuels and how green hydrogen can contribute to solving the energy crisis in the country.
The reception was co-organised by Infrastructure South Africa, GIZ, the World Bank and the International PtX Hub. It was the first networking event of a series leading to the South African Green Hydrogen Summit SAGHS from 16th to 17th October 2023 in Cape Town (Green Hydrogen Summit | Promoting South Africa as a Green Hydrogen Investment Destination of Choice).
