Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Blade Nzimande made a direct link between the country’s plans to produce green hydrogen for export and domestic markets and the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP) when officially unveiling the Hydrogen Society Road Map (HSRM) on Thursday.

Nzimande said that he viewed the HSRM as one of the “leading instruments” for the economic recovery being pursued by government under the ERRP.

“As government we are determined to create an environment which encourages investment, the creation of employment and the skills needed for our economic growth and development.

“I therefore view the launch of the HSRM as amongst the critical and leading instruments towards our economic recovery,” he said, adding that initial research pointed to the possibility of creating 20 000 green-hydrogen-linked jobs by 2030.

The road map, which has been widely consulted, states explicitly that South Africa should leverage the emerging hydrogen opportunity as part of the ERRP, as well as to “rebrand” the country as a destination for sustainable investment.

This point was underlined at the launch by Trudi Makhaya, who is special economic adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

She noted that Ramaphosa had used his recent State of the Nation Address to highlight the important role the HSRM could play in stimulating an economic recovery, through major new investments in green hydrogen.

“President Ramaphosa often asks: where will growth come from?”

“Well, I am convinced by the analysis presented in this report and the work I have witnessed over time, that the hydrogen economy will be an important source of economic growth and jobs for the economy,” Makhaya said.

The report emphasises the need to create an environment for the investments needed to develop an “inclusive, sustainable and competitive hydrogen economy by 2050”, but also stresses the importance of implementing small-scale “catalytic projects” in the short term.

15 GW OF ELECTROLYSER CAPACITY BY 2040

While the document sets only a modest target of 1 MW of green-hydrogen production capacity by 2024, it envisages a material upscaling thereafter, to more than 15 GW of electrolyser capacity by 2040.

It anticipates that much of this capacity will be located in the Northern Cape, including within a new special economic zone at Boegoebaai, near the border with Namibia, which also has big green hydrogen ambitions.

By 2030, the HSRM envisages yearly green-hydrogen production of at least 500 000 t.

The HSRM also outlines six high-level outcomes, including using hydrogen to:

• support the decarbonisation of the transportation subsectors of heavy-duty trucking, shipping, aviation and rail;
• facilitate the decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries such as iron and steel, chemicals, mining, refineries and cement;
• create export markets for green hydrogen and derivative products such as green ammonia;
• green and enhance both the electricity and building sectors;
• develop a manufacturing sector capable of producing hydrogen products and production components; and
• support the transition from grey to blue and green hydrogen in those sectors that already use hydrogen as a feedstock, including the country’s coal- and gas-to-liquids producers.

The transition from grey hydrogen would be further facilitated, the HSRM indicates, by the finalisation of a ‘Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy’, the formulation of which was being overseen by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.

Also underlined in the report is the need for international partnerships, including with key export destinations, such as Europe, Japan, South Korea and China.

The German government has confirmed that it is planning to transfer hydrogen production technology to African countries, owing to the fact that it has to import 40% to 60% of the hydrogen it needs to meet its net-zero goals.

However, the HSRM also stresses that South Africa should "ensure that our national interests are clearly articulated and protected".