South Africa is expected to receive some R628 million in European Union (EU) grant funding in support of its green hydrogen agenda.
This was announced during a media briefing with the Minister of Energy and Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau and European Union (EU) Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.
“The [first] European Grant is close to R100 million. It will be [used] in the implementation of the strategy for Transnet. The other European Union Grant of almost half a billion Rand will go to the development and construction of infrastructure in the South African green hydrogen value chain.
“These two…grants will be implemented in a way so that they contribute to South Africa’s strategic objectives of firstly adding value in the local economy and…higher in the value chain and also develop the knowledge economy for growth in other sectors,” Simson said.
Minister Ramokgopa told the gathering that South Africa is determined to “take advantage of one of the new emerging frontiers…green hydrogen”.
“We think that green hydrogen provides some of the best opportunities for the country to reindustrialise given the fact that we are sitting on significant mineral endowments in our country, our ability to beneficiate locally and our ability to access more lucrative markets – the European Union being one of those markets.
“The European Union stands ready to meet its own targets and as part of that, a greater degree of appetite to pay a premium in relation to green hydrogen. We are sitting on significant endowments, and we want to exploit those endowments for the benefit of the South African economy but also to help our partners to meet their own targets in relation to cleaning the economy,” Ramokgopa said.
Meanwhile, Minister Tau added that the grants will also assist South Africa to achieve its net zero targets.
“But also…there’s the opportunity of greening significant parts of our value chain and therefore decarbonising in certain industries and regions.
“It is a great opportunity. We, working with the [Industrial Development Corporation], have got a green hydrogen commercialisation strategy. At the implementation level, the Ministry of Energy and Electricity will be leading us but at the back of that, we will be able to provide the necessary support,” Tau said. – SAnews.gov.za
