Every Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Krivani Pillay speaks to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly.  Reported here is this Friday’s At the Coalface transcript:

Pillay: Japan is forecasting a massive market for fuel cells that use South African platinum.

Creamer: Yes, it is great news Krivani, but I am so over the moon and before I go into that, I just want to say how happy I am, because this economic stimulus and recover plan announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa a few minutes ago. This has got everything. It is able to revitalise mining and agriculture. Just look at tourism, if we can open those gates and take away the red tape, it is going to be fantastic.

Then this new infrastructure fund, we really need something in the infrastructure side and that can drive so much economic activity. Deep into the townships trying to get youth employed, the medical side, the hospital side, the education side and the municipalities, it is going to ignite economic activity. I am so happy with it.

Pillay: Well from your mouth to the economics gods ears.

Creamer: In the meantime, there is some fantastic news going around about fuel cells. We have been putting our faith in these for some time, because we believe that they will really stimulate demand for platinum. Platinum is our metal, it can only come from our soil.

That will do so much for the world in this time of climate change where we need to make sure that we are not emitting. What was wonderful this week, was that CNN flighted adverts, which showed that they are projecting huge growth for platinum-using fuel cells. Obviously Yen goes into the trillions, but this was also in the billion dollar range over the next 10 years.

Then, exponential growth after that into the hydrogen economy where you use fuel cells that have platinum that catalyse the whole reaction that give you clean electricity and it gives you heat as well. You can drive cars with it, as well as trains, trams and trucks, but you can also power your own home with it. There are already thousands of homes in Japan that are powered by fuel cells.

Japan is a good place to start, because people always complain that in the early stages of development of fuel cells they are too expensive, particularly the platinum they tried to thrift that. But, Japanese electricity costs are very high and they have been based on nuclear, which they want to move away from. So, this gives us an opportunity to really set a foot in the market there.

Looking at China, they are the ones that can really bring us down the cost curve. They are talking about 2-million cars they have got to target in the next 10-years that will be driven by fuel cells. They have got terrible pollution problems in their cities and they need to get rid of that and the fuel cell can do it for them.  

Pillay: South African company Isondo this week reported that it is at the ready to produce fuel cell components locally.

Creamer: That is marvellous. This Isondo Precious Metals have been working on this for a couple of years and they have got their own skin in the game. They have also got backing from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

They have already imported a plant from Germany, which can evolve us in the manufacture and assembly of membrane electrodes, which are used in these fuel cells. They are now looking for space at the OR Tambo Industrial Development Zone (IDZ). That was another great part of the speech from Cyril Ramaphosa wanting to promote these IDZs.

This company is keen on starting business with private equity help, with a strong business case as well, getting locally involved using platinum group metals as part of this membrane electrode assembly plant that they are hoping to get working very soon close to the airport in the IDZ. We know that the platinum companies are also working and we can see forklifts moving around out in Springs that is driven by a fuel cell at the Impala Platinum refinery.

There are all sorts of generations of stationary energy using platinum catalysed fuel cells also out at Impala Platinum in Springs. So things are moving along the fuel cell line.

Pillay: Global commentators this week called on resource-rich African countries to use their wonderful mineral endowments to take their people out of poverty.

Creamer: That is it. It is so ironic that South Africa is rich, but we still are behind the curve when it comes to turning those riches to positive account, in other words, bringing that metals and mineral to surface very economically.

We get beaten in that space by Australia and Canada. What they saying now is let’s put our heads together, we have now a free trade agreement in Africa, 44 countries working together. What we need is a bursting out all over of economic activity and what can drive that is this tremendous mineral endowment that we have got that can bring our people out of poverty, if we work on it collectively.

Pillay: Thanks very much. Martin Creamer is publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly.