Investment holding company Sakhumnotho business unit Sakhumnotho Power has partnered with energy project development company Keren Energy Investments to undertake a proof-of-concept project to produce green hydrogen at a site supplied by Namaqua Engineering, in Vredendal, in the Western Cape.

The site has a 100 kW photovoltaic solar system installed and this renewable energy will be used as the primary energy to produce green hydrogen. The hydrogen generated will, ultimately, be used in fuel cell vehicles in the future.

“This is an innovative undertaking that promises to be among the first in South Africa that demonstrates the feasibility of producing green hydrogen from solar energy," says Sakhumnotho.

For the purposes of this green hydrogen proof-of-concept project, Keren has partnered with hydrogen fuel cell component manufacturer Cape Stack and Namaqua Engineering, which is well-positioned to provide the engineering expertise required for the project, the company adds.

“As an independent power producer that has developed various projects under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme of South Africa, Keren Energy has seen that the hydrogen economy is developing worldwide,” says Keren Energy representative George van Rensburg.

“With Sakhumnotho, we have already developed sites to execute commercial green hydrogen projects for the future and believe, through Sakhumnotho and Cape Stack, we can execute this proof-of-concept project successfully,” he says.

Sakhumnotho invests in renewable energy as part of its power portfolio, which includes renewable power generation and the hydrogen sector. The group invests in diverse sectors of the economy to create value for stakeholders.

“Hydrogen is a transformative energy that has the potential to become an important energy resource in Africa as well as the world. The investment in this proof-of-concept augments the company’s investment in the power and energy sector as a whole.

“Within Sakhumnotho, we are cognisant that oil and gas are not going to be the only fuel sources in the future. We understand that we have to invest in a portfolio of power sources which will include oil and gas, renewable energy, as well as hydrogen in order to innovate and grow our investment portfolio into the future. Even though it is not yet commercially feasible, we see hydrogen as something that will become an important component of the clean energy mix in the near future,” says Sakhumnotho Group president and CEO Professor Sipho Mseleku.