South Africa has taken another step along the road to the local development of platinum-using fuel cells, which provide zero-emission electricity and heat in a world in search of clean power.
The University of the Western Cape-hosted and State-backed Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Systems has entered into a three-part agreement with European fuel cell stack provider Nedstack BV and Cape Town company Africa Green Energy Technologies (AGET) for the local manufacture of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell components and systems.
HySA Systems will design and manufacture membrane electrode assemblies and Dutch company Nedstack will integrate them into the PEM fuel cells.
Nedstack is a PEM fuel cell producer and stack provider for integrators who deliver energy systems for telecom, utility and transport applications.
HySA Systems and Nedstack will collaborate closely with AGET to develop fuel cell market opportunities in South Africa and on the African continent.
Nedstack CEO Arnoud van de Bree, HySA Systems director Dr Cordellia Sita and AGET CEO Pavel Parks remarked that the collaboration would provide momentum towards commercially viable local fuel cell manufacture, which would, in turn, drive demand for locally mined platinum.