Business Exchange on Hydrogen

The second South African Green Hydrogen Summit held in Cape Town on 17 October 2023, provided an opportunity for business representatives from South Africa and Germany to dialogue with members of the bilateral Task Force for green hydrogen cooperation, thanks to the South African-German Energy Partnership which convened a special meeting for this purpose.

South Africa was represented at the dialogue by The Presidency, and Germany represented by a delegation from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to the South African Green Hydrogen Summit.

Shaakira Karolia, Senior Economist & Specialized Strategic Support at the Presidency,  stated that partnerships were required for the development of a green hydrogen economy, emphasising that business-to-government or business-to-business partnerships would enable the green hydrogen economy as envisioned in the South African Country Investment Strategy and the Green Hydrogen Commercialisation Strategy. She continued to say that in the context of partnerships, the Minister of Electricity in the Presidency would be chairing the African Green Hydrogen Alliance and more partnerships will be explored through that platform.

Dr Jürgen Friedrich, Ministerial Envoy for Green Hydrogen Projects for the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), , said that South Africa offered a promising context to develop a green hydrogen economy with diverse supply chains. The South African government would play a crucial role in creating the enabling framework with the support from other countries both in the region and abroad.

Companies present at the business exchange, discussed possibilities to match producers with off-takers of green hydrogen and power-to-x products, and asked how the Task Force could assist or play a role in facilitating trade in green hydrogen.

The Task Force members highlighted the importance or mechanisms like H2Global, grant and concessional finance opportunities and the development of infrastructure including logistics and distribution networks. The need to address economies of scale while allowing small projects to thrive, was a key focus in the meeting.