JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Platinum-based electrolysis for the production of planet-cleaning green hydrogen is gaining worldwide momentum.

The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) projected on Wednesday that global electrolyser capacity is poised to grow by a cumulative 212 GW.

Correspondingly, based on the assumption that platinum-based proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers will have a 38% share of the electrolyser market in 2030, yearly platinum demand from PEM electrolysers alone is expected to rise to 229 000 oz in 2030 from 4 000 oz last year.

PEM electrolysers generate green hydrogen, which platinum-based fuel cells are then able to convert to zero-emission electricity for green mobility, clean stationary power and decarbonised steel and cement.

Green hydrogen also forms the basis of green ammonia, used to depollute shipping and fertilise crops amid the introduction of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) putting pressure on conventional fertiliser ammonia to go green, which can only be done with the help of green hydrogen. CBAM is expected to have implications for the ammonia market by placing a carbon price on imported ammonia. This will drive up costs for producers outside the EU, who will need to invest in cleaner technologies to remain competitive.

In South Africa, a green ammonia production project is being developed in the Eastern Cape by Hive Hydrogen South Africa, chaired by former Standard Bank chairperson and former Eskom CEO Thulani Gcabashe.

Developments in North America highlight gathering momentum in the electrolyser market, WPIC reported in its release to Mining Weekly, which pointed out that the US ha maded hydrogen subsidies available through the Inflation Reduction Act, with plans being developed for ten major hydrogen hubs.

In March, the US Department of Energy awarded $750-million to 52 clean hydrogen projects across 24 states to dramatically reduce the cost of clean hydrogen and reinforce America's global leadership in the growing clean hydrogen industry.

Among other aims, the projects are expected to enable US manufacturing capacity to produce ten gigawatts of electrolysers a year, enough to add yearly production of 1.3-million tons of clean hydrogen.

Canada is also making an investment tax credit available for clean hydrogen production, WPIC added.

In Norway, Norwegian PEM electrolyser-maker Hystar is building an automated 4 GW electrolyser factory and has revealed plans to establish a multi-gigawatt factory in the North American market by 2027.

Moreover, Norwegian electrolyser business, Nel, has received $125-million in cash incentives and grants from the US Department of Energy and Michigan for a 4 GW electrolyser plant. In the planned new facility, Nel will manufacture its next-generation PEM electrolyser technologies.

In May, US PEM electrolyser manufacturer Plug Power received a loan commitment from the US Department of Energy for six green hydrogen production facilities.

With plans to operate a green hydrogen highway across North America and Europe, Plug has built a gigafactory to produce electrolysers and fuel cells. It is developing multiple green hydrogen production plants targeting commercial operation by year-end 2028, which will use its own PEM electrolysers.

In Spain, €800-million worth of aid for seven green hydrogen projects has been approved by the Spanish government to support 652.2 MW of electrolysis capacity, with companies such as Iberdrola, Repsol and EDP winning funding for their projects.

In Germany, Federal Minister of Economy and Climate Robert Habeck has handed over funding grants for 23 hydrogen projects with €619-million to RWE for the construction of a 300-MW electrolyser in Lingen, Lower Saxony, as part of the GET H2 Nukleus project and for a hydrogen facility in Gronau-Epe, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Funding has been granted to a consortium developing a 100 MW electrolyser plant at the Port of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, as part of the HyTechHafen Rostock project. RWE is a member of this consortium. The federal government is providing 70% of the total funding for each of the projects.

In India, hydrogen electrolyser manufacturer Ohmium has opened its new 2 GW gigafactory.

WPIC, formed in 2014 by the leading South African platinum producers, played a leading role in this month’s Shanghai Platinum Week and is going all out to uplift the market for platinum investment demand.