Cape Town - Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille gazetted a slew of additional infrastructure projects expected to have significant importance to the country as its green hydrogen industry becomes more established and delivers more economic, energy and developmental benefits.
The nine green hydrogen projects were gazetted as Strategic Integrated Projects (Sips) in line with the Infrastructure Development Act and were first announced at the South African Green Hydrogen Summit (SAHGS) which took place in Cape Town last week.
Green hydrogen is hailed as a cleaner fuel to power up industrial processes, including long haul freight, shipping and aviation.
It is created when water is split into oxygen and hydrogen using wind or solar energy.
The summit was hosted by Infrastructure South Africa (ISA), which monitors all infrastructure projects in the country, and expedites infrastructure delivery, raises additional funding and addresses the fragmentation in infrastructure delivery.
Before the summit, ISA amassed a pipeline of green hydrogen worth over R300 billion, but much of this pipeline required further project preparation support to reach financial targets.
De Lille said it was against this background that these additional projects were gazetted. She said the objectives of the projects published were to crowd in more private sector investments and development into South Africa.
“The process of gazetting infrastructure projects means implementation will be prioritised and we will assist with unblocking any snags, whether technical, financial, legal or administrative. that have hindered infrastructure delivery for so long,” De Lille said.
The additional projects also include a number of projects under the Just Energy Transition Programme, the Oil and Gas National Programme, the Embedded Generation National Programme, the Social Housing Programme and others.
De Lille said the country’s The Green Hydrogen National Programme (GHNP) consisted of 19 projects across the country with the number expected to increase.
Nine have been successfully registered with ISA and are either at an early business case or intermediate business case.
Some of these included the Prieska Power Reserve in the Northern Cape, Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Development in the Northern Cape, Atlanthia Green Hydrogen in the Western Cape, and Sasolburg Green Hydrogen 60MW in the Free State.
Other projects under the Green Hydrogen programme include Mainstream Renewable Energy Hydrogen in the Western Cape, Isondo Fuel Cell MEAs Manufacturing in Gauteng, and the Saldanha Bay green hydrogen project.
Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, head of ISA as well as Infrastructure and Investment in the Presidency, said South Africa was regarded as one of the main future suppliers of green hydrogen products to the world due to the “outstanding potential of renewable energy sources and existing hydrogen production facilities”.
“Building a hydrogen economy could open up promising new export markets for South African companies, as well as domestic use opportunities. It can also lead to significant economic development, re-industrialisation and job creation opportunities.
“This would support a just transition in the South African energy sector,” Ramokgopa said.