Anglo American Platinum, BMW Group South Africa and Sasol South Africa are collaborating to conduct a trial of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, marking an important step towards developing a green hydrogen economy, the Minerals Council South Africa (MCSA) said earlier this week.
As countries around the world reduce their environmental footprint by reducing greenhouse gas emissions to confront climate change concerns, green hydrogen is a vital component in the shift towards green energy sources.
“For South Africa, which is the largest supplier of platinum group metals (PGMs), the use of green hydrogen in the auto sector is an important development that could generate demand of up to five million ounces of PGMs a year if hydrogen fuel cells are used in 10% of the global car market,” the MCSA said.
This will underpin job security for the 175 000 people employed in the PGM mining sector which has experienced declining production volumes in recent years, the council added.
South Africa’s production of PGMs in 2022 amounted to 269.5 tonnes, 5.5% lower than the 285.3 tonnes recorded in 2021.
Export volumes for the basket of six PGM metals fell by nearly 13% to 230.7 tonnes in 2022 from 264.6 tonnes the year before according to the council’s statistics.
Local sales volumes were 15.7 tonnes in 2022, a 24% increase from 12.6 tonnes in 2021.
PGMs are used to make auto catalysts and in a wide range of industrial applications. They are used in the electrolysis of water to split hydrogen and oxygen, and in hydrogen fuel cells to generate electricity for mobile or stationary applications.
“For South Africa’s PGM sector, the green hydrogen economy provides a critical market for their metals to continue playing an important role in greening the economy.
The Minerals Council and its members are engaged in the early stages of a project to understand the role the local mining industry can play in South Africa’s nascent green hydrogen economy and to encourage the use of PGMs,” the council said.
MCSA said the project between Anglo American Platinum, BMW and Sasol is an important development for the industry as the hydrogen fuel cell powered BMW iX5 Hydrogen performs in real-world conditions.
“Anglo American Platinum provides the PGMs used to make hydrogen and convert it to electricity. Sasol will provide the green hydrogen and the mobile refuelling system,” MCSA said.
This project comes soon after the launch of the world’s largest mine haul truck with a 290-tonne payload by Anglo American at the Mogalakwena platinum mine in Limpopo.
Sasol produced its first green hydrogen at its Sasolburg facility in June.
