The second Energy Transition Webinar was held on Tuesday (12 April), and focused on Saldanha Bay’s potential hydrogen fuel export hub.
The online sessions was hosted by the Saldanha Bay IDZ’s Innovation Campus and saw a panel of experts discuss the future of hydrogen fuel.
According to keynote speaker Thomas Roos, the Saldanha Bay region has excellent solar and wind resources that had the potential for large renewable energy electricity at competitive costs.
“Electricity is a contested space in South Africa,” said Roos, from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and one of the authors of the report Powerfuels and Green Hydrogen, prepared under the auspices of the EU-South Africa (EU-SA) Partners for Growth programme.
“This potential far exceeds local demand, and export potential is limited: neighbouring countries’ economies are small, and there is no high-voltage, direct current (HVDC) transmission lines to European markets. But if we could export renewable electricity as molecules rather than electrons, this would overcome that challenge [for the large European and other markets],” he remarked.
To produce hydrogen fuel – molecular fuel – water and a substantial amount of electricity is required. The solution, Roos says, is to use that renewable energy source to produce energy in a molecular form – hydrogen – which can then be exported.
Roos described how the war in Ukraine had accelerated the transition in Europe toward renewable energy.
According to REPowerEU: Joint European action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy, the EU will increase its demand for larger volumes of renewable hydrogen imports.
For example, Germany will require 2.7 million – 3.0 million tons of hydrogen fuel per year by 2030.
Japan is looking at 5 million – 10 million tons by 2050.
Panellists Marlett Balmer, employed by GIZ in the South African green hydrogen programme focusing on research, innovation, capacity building and green hydrogen sector development, said this was an excellent opportunity for South Africa.
Balmer pointed out that the country had an enormous advantage because of the wealth of experience in organisations such as Sasol and through the development of the Renewable Independent Power Producer Programme (REIPPP), which firmly focuses on how to structure community benefits.
She added that what was required now was to provide the training for the skills needed to follow through on the energy transition and for investors to come to the party.
Katrina Abhold, Project Lead, Global Opportunities at the Global Maritime Forum (GMF), echoed this sentiment.
She said the GMF had looked at the opportunities to produce scalable hydrogen fuels and that Saldanha Bay wasan ideal location.
“It has the space, is on a major shipping route and has access to strong renewable energy sources [solar and wind],” she said.
Abhold went on to say that to service the maritime sector 80% of the infrastructure spend would need to be on the land side of the port. These included desalination plants, production and storage facilities and retrofitting existing plant to deal with the transition.
She was also optimistic about the potential community-level benefits of developing a green hydrogen economy.
George van Rensburg, MD of Keren Energy, said the company’s hydrogen project in Vredendal was proof this was a viable option for the region.
Moderator Adinda Preller, SBIDZ Executive: Transaction & Investor Support, said that the Innovation Campus webinars looked to create awareness, build partnerships and position it as a collaborator with other special economic zones (SEZs) to harness the opportunities brought on by the energy transition.
The 3rd Energy Transition Webinar will take place on 7 June 2022 and the theme will be Hydrogen Based Steel Production.
For more on the SBIDZ and their sessions visit www.sbidz.co.za
