POLOKWANE – Hydrogen, South Africa’s future economic hub.
The economy is moving towards decarbonisation, which means that we are tapping into an exciting new industry. The Hydrogen Economy Indaba hosted a series of web-based discussions throughout the month of October in which they provided a platform for the private sector, government and academics alike to discuss the ways forward using hydrogen.
The platform also offered entrepreneurs information on how they can develop their business and modify business skills to join the hydrogen industry.
In the fourth and final episode of the Hydrogen Economy Indaba experts in their fields will pave the way forward, away from carbon emitting fuels, with hydrogen.
Want to find out more about green hydrogen and how it will benefit your business? Join the team of experts in the fourth and final virtual episode on October 28 between 09:00 and 12:30.
See the highlights from episode three:
Episode three of four took place on October 21 and the virtual Hydrogen Economy Indaba, which was facilitated by James Mackay, the director of Energy strategy and infrastructure transition at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) highlighted the various spheres of green hydrogen.
Mackay explained that it could cost R2.5 trillion to develop the green hydrogen industry in South Africa between now and 2040.
“The energy transition if one considers that cost, is the single biggest growth opportunity for the next two decades. If I put that into perspective, even a moderate target of 4 million tonnes of green hydrogen production in South African context would come at a price tag of R2,5 trillion between now and 2040,” he said.
Three areas where hydrogen will build the economy is; the production of green hydrogen for export, production for domestic markets and development of industrial capabilities to manufacture the components that go into electrosis renewable energy that is required to make hydrogen green energy.
Diksha Laljeeth, the associate director in the People & Organisation competency within Advisory area of PwC shared that job creation and skills development centred around the green economy and hydrogen within the South African context. It is expected that there’ll be in emergence in green careers as well as the already existing careers that will evolve to function in the green economy. “It is important to map out the needs, looking at the supply capabilities of the workforce,” she stated.
PwC has a developed a ‘New world, new skills’ campaign which centres around reskilling and upskilling individuals within the STEM and digital technology spaces. They have collaborated with various stakeholders to develop these skills. The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande stated that it is important to prepare the country to be a key player in the hydrogen economy. In preparation for the future role of hydrogen, the government is guided by a National Hydrogen Strategy called Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) which was approved by cabinet in 2007.
Through this investment, the government was able to respond to the challenges presented by Covid-19 by rolling out hydrogen fuel cell systems to provide primary power for field hospitals and medical facilities to support Covid-19 patients.
“Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies can be a game changer for the country’s economy provided that we all work together as government, private sector and academia,” he said.
Nzimande further stated that HySA has provided a good foundation for hydrogen research, development and innovation projects and facilities. There are three centres of competence at North West university focusing on infrastructure, at the University of Cape Town which focuses on catalysis and the University of Western Cape focusing on systems. The HySA progrmmae has supported masters and Phd students with a focus on hydrogen production, storage and distribution as well as catalyst productions and skills in system integration and technology. To date, 147 of these students have graduated and 43 of those are Phd students.
The South African National Energy institute, the energy and water seta and the university of Pretoria have collaborated to launch a six-week course to train unemployed Tvet college graduates on installing, operation and maintenance of hydrogen and fuel cells.
Kenneth Ikechukwu Ozoemena, the professor of Materials, Energy, Electrochemistry and Technology at the University of Witswatersrand stated that the country has an abundance of natural mineral resources and the government has been generous in supporting scholarships which encourages partnerships between industry and academia. However, there are challenges that are affect the development of this partnerships which include poverty and funding for students. Some of the solutions that Ozoemena mentioned are increased partnerships with other countries and industries as well as introduction of electrochemistry in the high school curriculum.
Seliki Tlhabane, the chief director of MST & Curriculum Enhancement Programmes at the Department of Basic Education stated that a new curriculum in coding and robotics has been implemented in response to the fourth industrial revolution.
The pilot will take place in 200 schools around the country targeted at Gr R to 3.
“Last January, the department initiated the process of developing a draft curriculum and policy statement for coding and robotics for Gr R to 9 with the various stakeholders and the process was inclusive. It’ll be a stand alone subject and won’t be integrated,” he said.
Of most relevance to the people of Limpopo is the fact that the Deputy Minister of Communication and Digital Technologies in the Office of the President is our own Pinkie Kekana, who was MEC for Economic Development, Environment, & Tourism in Limpopo. She has adopted a critical aspect of the project, which is the access point for people to engage with the Hydrogen Economy. During Edition 2 a proposal was made for an Accelerator Programme with a particular focus on Youth and Women, and this was enthusiastically endorsed by Kekana as well as the Deputy Minister of DTIC, Mr Fikile Majola.
A commitment was made to launch this programme as soon as possible, and more details on how to engage will be released as soon as they are available. Interested people are urged to begin to develop their own projects which can at some stage interface with the developing Hydrogen Economy, and to follow the development of the Accelerator Programme.
