South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation

AFRICA EVENT REPORT

POD 4: GREEN HYDROGEN AND MINING

SUPPORTING GREEN HYDROGEN OPPORTUNITIES FOR MINES

Rebecca Maserumule, Chief Director: Hydrogen and Energy, South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation

The Department of Science and Innovation, South Africa, has created a Hydrogen Society Roadmap that seeks to achieve six high-level outcomes to create an inclusive, sustainable and competitive hydrogen economy by 2050. These include the decarbonisation of the transportation sector; decarbonisation of energy-intensive industries; and the greening of the power sector and buildings. The Roadmap also plans to create an export market for green hydrogen and green ammonia, as well as set up manufacturing capabilities for hydrogen products and components. The actions relevant to the mining industry and proposed in the Roadmap include the classification of hydrogen as a transport fuel, and the development of a regulatory framework to support zero-emission transport across road, rail, and shipping. Maserumule observes this could be useful for mining companies in the context of Scope 2 emissions when they

AFRICA EVENT REPORT

POD 4: GREEN HYDROGEN AND MINING

ship their output from the mine to the port for exports. On the new self-generation threshold of 100 MW, the Roadmap calls for a reduction in the administrative timelines required for the approval of self-generation projects. “There’s a number of ways to do that through the system, you know, through strategic infrastructure projects, which can reduce your legislative and administrative processes from 18 months down to 51 days,” says Maserumule.

The Roadmap envisages the establishment of catalytic projects to kickstart the hydrogen economy. These are the Boegoebaai SEZ, Platinum Valley Initiative, CoalCO2-X Demonstration, and SAF (sustainable aviation fuels) projects. “We feel that catalytic projects, which we call shovel ready with the existing legislative regulations in place, will be really important to getting the mining sector involved in green hydrogen,” Maserumule said.

Hydrogen pilot projects relevant to the mining industry include mining trucks at Mogalakwena and the AngloAmerican corporate office buildings in Rustenburg.