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Germany, South Africa discuss prospect of fuel cell buses

3rd March 2017

By: Kim Cloete

Creamer Media Correspondent

     

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South African specialists and government officials have met with their German counterparts to discuss a pilot project to introduce hydrogen fuel cell buses in two cities in South Africa.

Germany has already rolled out some such buses in Berlin, Stuttgart and Hamburg and is sharing its experience with a range of interested South Africans from municipal officials and the platinum industry to universities and Hydrogen South Africa (HySA).

“We have a lot of experience in fuel cell buses. We want to explore what’s possible in South Africa. We don’t have the platinum, but we have the experience. You will get the support from our industry,” Dr Thorsten Herdan, the director-general of BMWi – Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy – told a workshop of participants in Cape Town.

Germany’s interest in fuel cell buses is part of its plan to have a carbon dioxide- free economy by 2050.

The German government is ploughing funding of €1.4-billion into government programmes on hydrogen and fuel cell technology until 2026. German industry has committed a further €2-billion to the funding budget.

“For the past ten years, we have purely focused on research and development. With the technology becoming more and more mature, we need a second pillar to introduce it to the market. We want to create volume and scale.”

South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is hoping to glean valuable lessons from the German experience. German experts from the fields of hydrogen/fuel cell research, environmental policy and public transport planning, along with hydrogen fuel cell bus manufacturers, shared their ideas at the workshop, which will be followed up by a study tour to Germany, tentatively scheduled for May.

“The intention is to make fuel cell buses feature prominently in the plans by metros to roll out green forms of mass transportation in their cities,” said DTI director-general Lionel October.

DTI primary minerals processing chief director Tapiwa Samanga said the initiative was also part of a plan to support local players in the value chain and create market opportunities.

“We want to promote fuel cells that use platinum so that we can develop our platinum industry,” he told Engineering News.

But Samanga said scale was needed.

“People may think 1 kg of platinum goes into a fuel cell. But, it’s only a few grams. But, if we can expand and diversify the range of applications for platinum or platinum-group metals, then the market will grow.”

He said about 40% of the world’s platinum was going into the autocatalyst industry, with around 30% going into jewellery.

“We are learning from a country that already has the experience in not only rolling out buses, but all the fuel cell elements . . . how the technology works, refuelling and other aspects. Instead of starting from scratch, we are collaborating with Germany.”

Currently, there are 23 hydrogen refuelling stations in Germany, with more under construction. The German government plans to have 400 refuelling stations by 2025 and 1 000 by 2030.

Herdan said South Africa and Germany shared very close bilateral relations, while the workshop was part of the South African-German Energy Partnership (SAGEP). It followed an in-depth review commissioned by the secretariat of the SAGEP at Deutsche Gesellschaft für international Zusammenarbeit to look into hydrogen research activities currently being carried out by South African universities and other institutions.

At the same time, various South African government departments and other institutions are actively promoting the application of fuel cell technology in South Africa.

The DTI has commissioned a study on opportunities in the field of public transportation. A service provider, called Blueprint, is carrying out the research and will present final results by the end of May.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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