The Northern Cape Economic Development Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (NCEDA) has revealed its South Africa Green Hydrogen Vision.
According to the plan, which was announced by NCEDA Acting CEO Hendrick Louw on May 21, the Northern Cape Province is poised to become a leader in the global green hydrogen economy, raising South Africa’s national production capacity by up to 10 million tons per year by 2050.
“The production of green hydrogen will supplement the grid, reduce the cost of electricity and reduce the pressure of the energy network in South Africa,” Louw stated. “In South Africa, we can immediately produce for our upstream [market] and by the time the global market establishes itself, we have a production feedstock that we can immediately sell.”
The announcement comes as an environmental assessment for a proposed green hydrogen hub in the Northern Cape was launched in March this year. The assessment is expected to take 18 to 24 months and aims to investigate opportunities and restrictions in developing a green hydrogen economy in the country.
Owing to the Northern Cape Province’s ample renewable energy resources, which will be used to power electrolysis to produce hydrogen, green hydrogen development in South Africa is expected to decarbonize the region’s industries while positioning the country as a nexus for production and distribution.
