Green hydrogen’s value lies in decarbonising difficult-to-abate sectors, such as heavy vehicle mobility and industrial processes, and heavy vehicle transport is seen as a lead market, owing to the relatively high price of diesel and the carbon limits that are being imposed in various jurisdictions, says economics and finance consultancy Rebel Group senior consultant Laurens Cloete.

“The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that zero-emission vehicles can reach total-cost-of-driving parity with conventional diesel vehicles by 2035 for all medium- and heavy-duty vehicle classes, even without incentives.

“Hydrogen also has rapid filling times, can deal with high payloads and provides attractive ranges, making it a promising fuel for transport logistics,” he details.

Transportation is set to be one of the key absorbers of renewable fuels, facilitated by the production of green hydrogen from renewable-energy sources, and refuelling infrastructure can be established in areas that have supportive economic conditions, says Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Infrastructure research team leader Nicholas Musyoka.

Renewable transportation fuel projects can be established as viable nodes prior to the introduction of whole supply chains, and can serve as the nucleus for the establishment of green hydrogen fuel supply chains. This strategy is being pursued along South Africa’s Hydrogen Valley corridor, which stretches from Limpopo to KwaZulu-Natal, he adds.

The maritime industry can also benefit from alternative fuels, such as to substitute bunker fuels, through using green ammonia or green methanol to reduce carbon emissions in the shipping industry. Similarly, the aviation industry can substitute fossil- based fuels with sustainable aviation fuels produced from green hydrogen as one of the feedstocks.

“Transportation is set to be a fast adopter of green hydrogen, but there are several other uses, including in the steel, cement and fertiliser industries. In some cases, it could be viable to capture the carbon dioxide (CO2) produced and react it with hydrogen to produce valuable chemicals. This could therefore substitute fossil-fuel-based chemicals, and serve as a source of green synthetic fuels,” says Musyoka.

South Africa is well positioned to supply sustainable fuels derived from green hydrogen to the maritime industry. Further, this opportunity, in addition to that presented by sustainable aviation fuels, serves as a good business case to stimulate the acceleration of the hydrogen economy in South Africa, he adds.

Sustainable aviation fuels based on hydrogen is an area where South Africa’s expertise in the Fischer–Tropsch process gives the country a competitive advantage.

“By making synthetic fuels using green hydrogen and carbon captured from the air or from unavoidable emissions, we can produce aviation fuels that are chemically equivalent to current aviation fuels and which can serve as a drop-in replacement for fossil-based aviation fuels,” highlights Cloete.

International Hydrogen

Green hydrogen relies on large-scale renewable electricity plants powered by solar or wind. South Africa has among the highest combined wind and solar potential in the world, and this has a direct impact on the price of the hydrogen that is produced.

“The demand for green hydrogen in Europe alone is huge and although South Africa is further from this market than North African countries such as Morocco and Egypt, we have excellent renewable resources, which is the main cost in producing and delivering green hydrogen.

“However, for green hydrogen certification, it is critical that we understand the requirements of the international offtakers and that we develop the necessary capability to deliver green hydrogen that has been certified as green in target markets,” Cloete highlights.

South Africa has abundant renewable- energy sources, including solar irradiation and wind. However, the country will not reap the benefits of economies of scale if it only looks at the local market to support the significant investment needed, emphasises Musyoka.

To serve export markets requires infrastructure, and South Africa must tap all stakeholders with an interest in setting up infrastructure and prepare to support local use, serve export markets and make a positive impact on the fiscus.

There are several significant green hydrogen funding initiatives in the country, including those run by the local Industrial Development Corporation and German development finance institution KfW Development Bank, he notes.

South Africa is collaborating with the German government, which has supported a number of projects to build an enabling environment for South Africa’s green hydrogen economy, says Cloete.

“There are opportunities for industrial development along the green hydrogen value chain, from hydrogen production to end-use. South Africa is well placed to exploit these opportunities, as we have a geographic advantage of exceptional renewable potential and critical mineral resources such as platinum, iridium and other platinum-group metals (PGMs), as well as key industrial capabilities, such as the Fischer–Tropsch and experience in making ammonia.

“Securing offtakers will be key to large investments. Most of the hydrogen economy will be driven by private-sector investment, as seen by the announcements by diversified miner Anglo American, energy and chemicals company Sasol, green energy company Hive Energy and steelmaker ArcelorMittal,” he adds.

Further, the current outlook is that hydrogen will be exported as ammonia, owing to its good volumetric energy density characteristics and the fact that the world already knows how to store and ship ammonia. Over the long term, export may happen through liquid hydrogen, Cloete says.

“Green hydrogen can be an export industry from the outset, as demonstrated by the Hive Hydrogen initiative, at Coega, and there are plans to develop Boegoebaai and Saldanha Bay as green hydrogen export ports. The Saldanha Steel plant is also ideally placed to produce green steel for export. For South Africa to be a competitive exporter, we also have to develop our domestic market,” he notes.

No-Carbon Industries

Meanwhile, capturing CO2 and using it in processes and/or capturing it to ensure a net-zero carbon footprint is one of the low- hanging fruits for industry, notes Musyoka.

“Hydrogen can in some cases be used directly in industries. The steel industry can use hydrogen directly, and green ammonia can be co-fired in coal power plants. Other industries, such as the cement industry, can find a use for their CO2 by producing chemicals enriched with CO2, or to capture it to ensure that they can achieve a net-zero carbon footprint.”

Further, CO2 can be reacted with green hydrogen to produce methanol, which can be fed directly into some existing industrial processes and chemical production processes. Direct hydrogenation of captured CO2 has been demonstrated and can be used to make olefins and sustainable aviation fuels, and can also serve as a base to make plastics, he illustrates.

Sasol and ArcelorMittal South Africa recently announced that they are developing carbon-capture technology to produce sustainable fuels and chemicals and use green hydrogen to produce steel, Cloete says.

“In cement production, some form of carbon capture will likely be inevitable, since most of the carbon in the cement making process is not from the kiln firing, but rather the CO2 released from the limestone as it is transformed into clinker, which is the key ingredient in cement.

“Hydrogen can play a role in the heating process and the oxygen produced in hydrogen electrolysis can be used instead of air to burn fuels during the cement making process, which results in a concentrated CO2 exhaust stream that is also easier to capture,” he says.

For the shift to a hydrogen economy to accelerate, South Africa needs international collaboration and needs to attract investment and companies that are willing to construct infrastructure across the supply chain, says Musyoka.

“South Africa cannot do everything and will require some companies with advanced technologies in this space to come and invest in the industry locally. International companies also come with knowledge in terms of investment preparedness and with an availability of resources to support the development of the hydrogen economy,” he says.

South Africa and Southern Africa must attract investments intentionally, as the region will need to build infrastructure, including to generate electricity, produce green hydrogen, and transport and export it.

“However, South Africa is simultaneously working hard to develop its own intellectual property. This is one of the reasons the Department of Science and Innovation launched the national HySA programme, namely to stimulate and support the beneficiation of PGMs and the development of the green hydrogen economy,” Musyoka says.

One of the success stories of the HySA programme is the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) capability developed by HySA Catalysis, which is hosted by the University of Cape Town and mineral research organisation Mintek, adds Cloete.

“MEAs are key components of hydrogen fuel cells as well as of electrolysers and HyPlats, the HySA Catalysis spin-off, is already supplying MEAs to overseas clients,” he highlights.