Name of the Project
Hydrogen Valley.

Location
The proposed hydrogen valley will extend about 835 km from Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals (PGMs) mine near Mokopane, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, along the industrial and commercial corridor to Johannesburg, in Gauteng, and to the south coast of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal.

Project Owner/s
The project is a collaboration between Anglo American and South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). The collaboration includes energy and services company ENGIE, the South African National Development Institute (Sanedi) and clean energy solutions provider Bambili Energy.

Project Description
The hydrogen valley will serve as an industrial cluster, bringing various hydrogen applications in the country together to form an integrated hydrogen ecosystem. The regional PGMs industry will be central to such a hydrogen valley, with PGMs playing an important role in polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis used to produce hydrogen at scale and in fuel cells.

A feasibility study completed in 2021 identified three hubs – Johannesburg, extending to Rustenburg and Pretoria; Durban, encompassing the city and Richards Bay; and Limpopo, centred around the Mogalakwena PGM mine. These hubs will have a fundamental role to play in integrating hydrogen into South Africa’s economy, and in establishing South Africa and its abundant renewable-energy resources as a strategically important centre for green hydrogen production.

Nine individual pilot projects have been identified across these hubs, recommended to be prioritised by developers, and spanning the transport, industrial and construction sectors.

This includes the Rhynbow project. This initiative will investigate aggregate demand for fuel cell heavy duty vehicles, including buses and articulated trucks, to scale a viable operational ecosystem.

Potential Job Creation
The implementation of the South African Hydrogen Valley corridor could potentially contribute $3.9-billion to $8.8-billion to gross domestic product (direct and indirect contributions) by 2050, and create about 14 000 to 30 000 direct and indirect jobs a year by 2030. In terms of platinum contribution, the study has projected a contribution of up to $70-million to the platinum industry in South Africa by 2030.

Capital Expenditure
The identified nine catalytic projects could cost about $1.2-billion to implement.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
ENGIE Impact (feasibility study).

Contact Details for Project Information
Anglo American, Nevashnee Naicker, +27 11 638 2592 or email nevashnee.naicker@angloamerican.com.
DSI, Veronica Mohapeloa, email veronica.mohapeloa@dst.gov.za.
Engie, tel +33 6 88 29 72 37 or email  engie@volanov.com.
Bambili Energy, tel +27 11 513 3587 or email info@bambilienergy.com.