Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane spent three days in Japan wooing potential investors in the green hydrogen industry in the hope that they would pump money into projects at the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Led by electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and joined by Northern Cape premier Zamani Saul, the delegation met leading financial institutions and trading companies, including Mitsui, IHI, Itochu, MHI and JERA.
The aim of the trip was to secure funding for SA’s plans to move towards the manufacturing of hydrogen and ammonia from renewable energy.
They are hoping to get investors, technical partnerships and co-financing out of the deliberations, with the hope that SA would eventually be a supplier of hydrogen to Japan.
Ramokgopa and the premiers showcased the country’s commitment to advancing flagship hydrogen projects such as the green hydrogen project in Boegoebaai and the Coega Green Ammonia Project in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Speaking about the trip, Mabuyane said SA and Japan had been co-operating for more than 60 years, adding that the Japanese knew SA.
“We were following up as part of the broader national plan to strengthen energy availability in our country.
“We’re just emerging out of the challenge of load-shedding but now we’re looking at being more futuristic in addressing this in a more sustainable way,” Mabuyane said.
In October 2023, the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape provincial governments signed a memorandum of understanding at the SA Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town to work together on the production of green hydrogen in the country.
“The Northern Cape has more sun, the Western Cape has wind while the [Eastern Cape] province has both wind and sun and as you can see, many wind farms are popping up. We’ve got a total of 17,” he said.
Energy company Hive Hydrogen is leading the multibillion-rand clean energy project in the city.
The R109bn facility, once in operation, would position the province as SA’s renewable energy capital through its green ammonia plant, which will supply fuel for heavy industry and ships.
The project, one of the biggest private sector investments in SA, will erect its own solar and wind energy systems and a desalinator to harvest the water it needs and use the brine waste to produce salt.
The project will also be geared around an energy partnership with the metro where it will supply the city with surplus clean energy and the municipality will feed it into the grid when there is insufficient renewable energy available.
Hive Hydrogen SA signed a partnership with Japanese trading and investment company Itochu, and an agreement with Genesis Eco-Energy to install 372MW of wind power.
“Hive [SA], the company behind that investment, has been up and down pursuing some strategic relations with some key companies in Japan, investors, business and other SOEs interested in the area,” Mabuyane said.
“Japan is big on LNG [liquefied natural gas], hydrogen and more interested in ammonia and interested in importing it. We see them as our target market.
“We’re looking at those kinds of offtake agreements that we think are in reach.
“The capacity and potential which we have around green ammonia and hydrogen in Coega is that the SEZ has everything.
“We just need modelling, financing and key international players if you talk about one phase [costing] R100bn.
“We’re looking at exporting one-million tonnes of ammonia to other countries while strengthening our own country.”
He said an environmental impact assessment for the touted liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Ngqura was also under way.
“So we are looking at the project that can take off in the next years or so. And these are big projects that take years to be planned.”
In a statement, Ramokgopa said the projects were pivotal to transforming SA into a world-class hydrogen economy.
“Japan’s pursuit of a sustainable hydrogen future presents a unique opportunity for SA.
“Our goal is to leverage Japan’s 2050 net-zero carbon objectives and its Hydrogen Society Promotion Act to position SA as a preferred supplier of green hydrogen and ammonia.”
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