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Mining giant Anglo American says it will complete a feasibility study to develop a “hydrogen valley” anchored in South Africa’s platinum group metal-rich Bushveld geological area.
The study will be carried out as part of a collaboration with the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and also includes the energy and services company ENGIE, the South African National Development Institute (SANEDI) and the energy solutions provider. cleans Bambili Energy.
The proposed hydrogen valley will extend approximately 835 kilometers from Anglo American’s Mogalakwena platinum group metals (PGM) mine near Mokopane in the Limpopo province of northern South Africa, along the industrial and commercial corridor to Johannesburg and the south coast in Durban.
DSI has said the project will focus on hydrogen technologies and is part of the government’s economic recovery plans.
Hydrogen and fuel cell technologies offer an alternative source of clean electricity, while hydrogen allows energy to be stored and delivered in a usable form.
Using hydrogen as an energy carrier could potentially reduce South Africa’s dependence on fossil fuels that cause global warming while reducing its dependence on imported oil, the department said.
“South Africa’s version of a ‘hydrogen valley” will identify concrete project opportunities to launch hydrogen activities in promising centers, with the aim of boosting economic growth and job creation, stimulating the development of new industries, increasing the appreciation of the country’s platinum reserves and reducing its carbon footprint ”. the department said in October 2020.
The industrial corridor project will begin in a PGM mining area in Limpopo and continue through the Johannesburg to Durban corridor, the department said.
South Africa has 75% of the world’s PGM reserves, which form a key input in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technologies.
“The transition to a low-carbon world is an opportunity to drive the development of cleaner technologies, create new industries and jobs, and improve people’s lives,” said Natascha Viljoen, CEO of Anglo’s PGM business. American.
Viljoen said that the regional PGM industry will be critical to such a hydrogen valley, with PGM playing an important role both in the polymer electrolytic membrane (PEM) electrolysis used to produce hydrogen at scale and in the fuel cells themselves.
He added that Anglo American is already investing in renewable hydrogen production technology at its Mogalakwena PGMs mine and in the development of hydrogen-powered fuel cell mine transport trucks, the world’s largest powered by hydrogen.
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