S.Africa's Sasol sees decade or more for green hydrogen mass adoption

Sasol

02/10/2023 15:18

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 2 (Reuters) - South African
petrochemical major Sasol  SOLJ.J  expects it will take at least
a decade for green hydrogen to become a fuel of choice, a top
company executive said on Monday, as cost, infrastructure and
regulations pose hurdles.
    South Africa, as part of its energy transition plan, wants
to be a green hydrogen leader on the continent and plans to set
up an export hub for the fuel, which is made using renewable
energy and without producing greenhouse gas emissions.
    Much of the success of the country's ambitions will come
down to Sasol's ability to produce the fuel on a mass scale, in
collaboration with the government on regulations, and a rapid
ramp up of renewable power capacity.
    But progress on both fronts has been slow and there has been
no implementation plan from the government as yet.
    "We anticipate that green hydrogen will become even more and
more reasonable as learning curves move forward, and that is
probably by 2035 or so," said Priscillah Mabelane, Sasol's
executive vice president, Energy Business.
    By then costs would come down below $2 per kilogram, she
added, from between $4 and $6 at present. 
    She spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of a demonstration of
an on-road, green hydrogen ecosystem, where a car developed by
Toyota  7203.T  was shown to run on fuel produced by Sasol. 
    Mabelane said the company was working with the government to
define standards and regulations for green hydrogen and to set
up a port for the export of the green fuel.   
    A feasibility study on the export hub on the country's west
coast has been delayed due to a lack of port infrastructure.
    The study, being carried out by Sasol and the government,
was supposed to have been ready by end-September, 2023.
    Sasol plans to produce up to 5,500 kilograms per day of
green hydrogen by next year, from a minimal volume of 150 kg per
day now. That's still way less than the 2.4 million tonnes of
grey hydrogen it produces. Grey hydrogen is made by burning
coal. 

 (Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
 ((promit.mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com; +27 10 346 1093;))