Development of a hydrogen economy in South Africa
In the context of a rapidly diminishing global carbon budget and the urgency to find adequate solutions to decarbonize the so-called heavy-to-abate sectors, the demand for green hydrogen (H2) and green hydrogen-based products (power-to-x (PtX) such as ammonia and synthetic jet fuels) is steadily increasing. The H2.SA project had been initiated with a focus on supporting South African stakeholders from the public, private and civil society sectors in establishing a favorable regulatory, institutional and technical framework for a green and sustainable hydrogen economy. Specifically, four areas of intervention (outputs) had been defined:
- Policy development and regulatory framework
- H2 economy and private sector involvement
- Research, innovation and education
- Environment and social dimensions
GFA was responsible for the following activities:
- Formulation of recommendations to improve the strategic (planning) basis and policies for a green H2/PtX economy
- In-depth study of the current planning and policy landscape related to green H2/PtX worldwide (benchmark study) and in SA
- Formulate recommendations for improving the strategic planning and policy base
- Formulate recommendations for improving the legal and regulatory framework for green H2/PtX in South Africa
- Review of the South African Hydrogen Society Roadmap (HSR) and other relevant national legal and regulatory framework documents