South Africa and the United Kingdom commit to working together towards a global hydrogen economy

On a recent visit to the United Kingdom, the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, said that South Africa viewed the green hydrogen economy as a transformative opportunity to reindustrialise the country and position itself as a global supplier of cost-effective green hydrogen.

"This strategic vision capitalises on the country's rich reserves of minerals and renewable resources, including ample solar and wind energy," he stated.

The Minister and a delegation visited the UK2070 Teesside Task Force on 17 November 2023 at the invitation of its Commissioner and Chair, Prof. Michael Henson.

The visit gave both parties an opportunity to engage further on how South Africa and the UK could collaborate on projects related to the hydrogen economy.

The Minister and the South African delegation were taken on a tour of the Net Zero Industry Innovation Centre (NZIIC), a new £13,1 million facility that draws on Teesside University's expertise in clean energy and sustainability and is key component of the Tees Valley Combined Authority's regional innovation strategy.  The strategy is intended to position Teesside firmly at the heart of the UK's green industrial revolution.

Supporting the ongoing drive for clean energy and sustainability, the NZIIC is the latest development at the expanding Net Zero Innovation Hub, spearheaded by Teesside University and based in the Tees Advanced Manufacturing Park in Middlesbrough.  The centre's purpose is to bring together resources, partnerships and expert insights to grow net zero capabilities and opportunities, placing the region at the forefront of the clean energy agenda and helping to create hundreds of clean energy jobs.

South Africa has had a bilateral agreement with the UK on science and technology since 1995.  Current areas identified for collaboration are climate change, biotechnology, astronomy and global change.

The South African delegation included the Director-General of Science and Innovation (DSI), Dr Phil Mjwara, and stakeholders from academia, local government and business.

The main purpose of the visit was to explore potential relationships that could support trade based on high-technology manufacturing and leverage opportunities provided by the hydrogen economy. 

The delegation's focus was on a high-level action plan to inform the development of large-scale hydrogen technology demonstrations, partnerships to support the large-scale deployment of hydrogen technologies, funding models and mechanisms to enable the implementation of identified projects, and resources to support continued innovation in hydrogen technologies, especially to reduce costs and increase performance.

Strategic partnerships to promote the manufacture of locally developed and publicly funded South African intellectual property (IP) and opportunities to export green hydrogen and green ammonia to the UK markets were also explored. 

As articulated in the Hydrogen Society Roadmap for South Africa, the journey towards a thriving hydrogen economy depends on collaborative efforts spanning the public and private sectors, domestically and internationally.  The roadmap is aimed at bringing a variety of stakeholders and institutions together around a common vision on how to deploy hydrogen and hydrogen-related technologies for economic development and to meet climate change targets.

"South Africa views its partnership with the UK as being critical to this endeavour, hence the undertaking of the various missions to the UK," said Minister Nzimande.

Both the Teeside Task Force and South Africa want to identify and implement plans to expand hydrogen production, delivery and use as a sustainable energy source.

Given that gender equality and social inclusion is at the core of the Hydrogen Society Roadmap for South Africa, the DSI is interested in partnering with the UK2070 Commission to share lessons on how to use the opportunities of the hydrogen economy to deal with poverty, unemployment and inequality.

Prof. Henson expressed his appreciation for South Africa's willingness to cooperate with the UK2070 Teesside Task Force, stating that, "When we collaborate, we generate, and when we generate, everything we do must be scalable, replicable and sustainable. In this way, when we fulfil the goals we set for ourselves, we will genuinely be together."

This article was first published on 22 November by South Africa Department of Science and Innovation.