Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele will join a delegation from Sasol, Infrastructure South Africa and the Northern Cape provincial government in Port Nolloth on January 17 for a stakeholder engagement aimed at starting a green hydrogen project in Boegoebaai.

The meeting and site visit will serve as an important interaction between government and Sasol in the implementation of the memorandum of agreement (MoA) signed and announced at the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium South Africa (Sidssa) of October 2021.

During Sidssa 2021, green hydrogen was identified as a “big frontier” that represents both future and current growth and investment opportunities for South Africa.

Through coordination by the Presidency, Sasol, the Northern Cape provincial government and the Gauteng provincial government launched three agreements at the Sidssa 2021, underpinning their green hydrogen ambitions.

These include an MoA between the Northern Cape provincial government and Sasol, which sets out that Sasol will be the anchor developer of the planned Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Special Economic Zone, pending a detailed feasibility study.

It also includes a heads of agreement between the Northern Cape provincial government and the Port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, to act as a demand aggregator for green hydrogen into Europe.

Lastly, an MoA was concluded between the Gauteng provincial government and Sasol, for Sasol to develop green hydrogen production facilities in Gauteng aimed at decarbonising domestic industry.

Globally, the demand for green hydrogen and green hydrogen-based products, such as ammonia and synthetic jet fuels, is rising.

This is off the back of national and corporate net-zero commitments aimed at keeping global warming below 2 ^oC above pre-industrial levels. Due to the multi-sectoral implications of producing green hydrogen, the Presidency plays a convening and coordinating role across government with respect to green hydrogen.