Germany supports local green hydrogen project with €12.5m in funding
The South African government, led by The Presidency, is collaborating with the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development to promote the development of green hydrogen in the country. The German ministry has commissioned its development agency, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), to be its role player in the project.
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During a stakeholder engagement held at Port Nolloth near Boegoebaai in the Northern Cape, minister in the presidency Mondli Gungubele said the German ministry would be supporting the project with at least €12.5m in funding.
According to the minister, the project aims to:
- Support the development of a favourable strategic and regulatory framework for a green hydrogen economy in South Africa
- Coordinate the important contributions of different government departments and stakeholders for such a framework
- Enable relevant actors to build a green hydrogen export economy
- Enhance capacity and knowledge of South African stakeholders in the green hydrogen and powerfuels sector
- Mitigate potential implications of a green hydrogen and powerfuels economy on the environment, society, and the economy.
Gungubele added that the Investment and Infrastructure Office in the Presidency has also pledged its support to a project by energy giant Sasol and the German government-supported H2Global initiative to produce sustainable aviation fuel to the international community.
He explained that the Infrastructure Office’s assessment of the project found that it has the potential to “contribute to a just [energy] transition” and to create “quality green jobs”.
“The German government, through its H2Global initiative, has created a sustainable aviation fuel market trading platform which is intended to provide funding to green hydrogen products globally. South Africa has the potential to become a global sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) hub due to our renewable endowment and Fisher-Tropsch technology capabilities. Sasol is working with a number of local and international partners on a pioneering sustainable aviation fuel project at the Sasol Secunda facility.
“Due to its catalytic nature and its potential to contribution to a just transition, the Investment and Infrastructure Office submitted a letter of support to H2Global for the Sasol Consortium’s SAF project,” Gungubele said.