South Africa’s green hydrogen power play

The continent’s largest economy sees an opportunity to join the global export market, but funding gap and lack of regulatory framework present challenges

Like its Saharan neighbours to the north, South Africa is banking on the growth of the green hydrogen economy. The government has set out ambitions to produce 1mt/yr of green hydrogen by the end of the decade and says exports could add ZAR$74b ($3.9b) to the domestic economy by mid-century. The country is well positioned thanks to its vast renewable resource potential. By some estimates, developing just 1% of the South Africa’s landmass would be sufficient to produce 10mt of green hydrogen. That volume alone the government expects would constitute a 7% share of the global market. For production of synthetic e-fuels, such as ammonia and methanol, South Africa already has significant competito