JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The date was December 2011. The place was Durban. The event was an Anglo American media convention led by then Anglo CEO Cynthia Carroll. The subject was the chance to make use of Anglo’s platinum group metals (PGMs) to generate clear hydrogen energy and maintain a whole lot of 1000’s of South African jobs.
A roundtable media dialogue supplied entry to many PGM executives to reply questions. Carroll drew on an abundance of previous and new analysis to champion the gasoline cell’s trigger at a perform held by the World Enterprise Council on Sustainable Improvement and the Worldwide Chamber of Commerce for the presidency of the United Nations local weather change conference’s seventeenth Convention of the Events (COP 17).
Carroll declared the window of alternative to be “vast open for South Africa to create a whole lot of 1000’s of recent jobs and concurrently get hold of a supply of unpolluted zero-emission electrical energy”.
The think-tank put to work was the UK’s Carbon Belief, which discovered that hydrogen gasoline cells had the potential to drive growth of a brand new industrial sector in South Africa and supply South Africa with the chance to develop into a serious world inexperienced economic system participant
On the identical time, Ballard of Canada, within the presence of South Africa’s then President Kgalema Motlanthe, demonstrated the enabling energy of PGMs in electrolysers and gasoline cells.
Offering particular perception was Anglo Platinum engineering head Krish Pillay, who outlined how PGM-catalysed electrolysers are in a position to present the inexperienced hydrogen that PGM-catalysed gasoline cells flip into clear electrical energy.
Between then and now, Ballard has been utilizing zero-emission PGMs-catalysed proton change membrane (PEM) gasoline cells to energy buses, vans, trains, ships, stationary energy crops, and also you title it.
It has been residing out its imaginative and prescient of delivering PGMs-based hydrogen gasoline cell energy to assist to defend Mom Earth from the vagaries of local weather change to main impact with nice aplomb.
Since COP 17, Mining Weekly has been receiving 15 years of enter from Ballard. In actual fact, its newest communique highlights the usage of its hydrogen PEM gasoline cells – and while you see PEM, see PGM – for the numerous information centres which can be bobbing up throughout the globe due to their zero-emission benefit.
Additionally since then, Anglo Platinum has develop into Valterra Platinum, which reported in its 2025 annual reporting suite obtained by Mining Weekly on Friday, March 27 that “the hydrogen economic system is about to be a broad demand sector with robust progress, regardless of some short-term challenges, as world coverage turns into extra supportive”.
Shortly earlier than that, on Thursday, March 1, Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Dr Richard Stewart instructed the PGMs Trade Day: “I’m really fairly bullish on hydrogen” and on the identical occasion Implats CEO Nico Muller added: “I believe hydrogen’s bought the within monitor.”
However are you able to think about the place South Africa can be now if the nation had simply stored tempo with Ballard.
Even at that 2011 stage, many have been satisfied PEM offered a compelling case to energy South Africa’s massive taxi fleet with hydrogen instead of petrol.
Many have been recalling how fuel-from-coal firm Sasol started by having one Sasol pump at petrol stations owned by different firms.
Former Sasol CEO Peter Cox used to say to Engineering Information & Mining Weekly that Sasol may repeat that by beginning with a single hydrogen pump at every petrol station to get hydrogen going.
Now Northam Platinum CEO Paul Dunne, who can also be president of Minerals Council South Africa, has drawn robust consideration to China, which is utilizing Sasol-type gray hydrogen to energy 1000’s of hydrogen vans in China as an interim measure. The five-year goal is to then advance to inexperienced hydrogen.
With the Center East disaster lifting gasoline costs to dizzy heights, many in South Africa are once more pointing to the hydrogen alternative.
Toyota tells Mining Weekly that modifying its taxis to run on hydrogen would outcome within the lack of one seat, which taxi house owners aren’t eager to see taking place.
However the place there’s a will, there’s a approach, notably amid the taxi enterprise dealing with severe gasoline value rise.
“To safe the way forward for PGM demand, we should actively create it – by partnership, shared funding, and a large portfolio method that frequently brings new functions into the pipeline,” Valterra Platinum, headed by CEO Craig Miller outlined in a latest LinkedIn submit.
“By combining Johnson Matthey’s industrial know-how management with a rising base of aligned associate capital, we are able to fast-track impactful new PGM functions and assist form the demand of tomorrow,” the Valterra word added.
South Africa can and will work with all international locations and firms with hydrogen know-how to revert to an power that it doesn’t need to import.
Great information is that South Africa’s Isondo Valuable Metals and ET Energies are taking steps to speed up the commercialisation of high-performance PGMs-based PEM electrolyser know-how as much as full electrolyser manufacturing with different companions throughout the globe, whereas supporting the aims of South Africa’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap, which emphasises industrialisation, localisation of hydrogen applied sciences, and worth addition to the nation’s vital mineral sources.
Internationally, the information of hydrogen electrolysis and gasoline cell mobility is flowing quickly. Just some newsbreaks in Mining Weekly’s tray proper now are:
- The Dutch Parliament has voted to transpose EU guidelines for inexperienced hydrogen-based fuels for transport.
- China has superior in direction of a brand new nationwide guideline that reduces hydrogen costs to round €3/kg for gasoline cell electrical vans, buses and heavy gear particularly.
- Brussels has authorized Italy’s plans to spend €6-billion on inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing for transport and industrial functions, supporting a focused 200 000 t of inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing a 12 months.
- Germany has unveiled a €6-billion funding package deal for 2026 to supercharge inexperienced hydrogen manufacturing, again carbon seize initiatives, and uplift hydrogen infrastructure throughout the nation. The Federal Ministry for Financial Affairs and Vitality, led by Minister Katherina Reiche, launched the Hydrogen Acceleration Act to slice by crimson tape and fast-track every part from electrolysers to pipelines. These strikes are all about locking in Germany’s 2045 local weather neutrality purpose and cementing its position as Europe’s hydrogen hub.
- Finland has attracted an estimated 60 inexperienced hydrogen initiatives over the previous few of years, with one 20 MW facility in Harjavalta now in operation.
- Inexperienced hydrogen firm Greenzo Vitality India and Lord’s Mark Industries of India are collectively creating 60 MW of inexperienced hydrogen initiatives within the state of Uttar Pradesh.
- Hydrexia has secured an order to offer Toyota Australia with various relocatable hydrogen refuelling stations to assist hydrogen-powered gasoline cell electrical automobiles within the Australian market.
- UK electrolyser producer ITM Energy Plc has obtained approval to proceed with a 20 MW hydrogen challenge.
- Hydrogen gasoline cell powered cruise ship Viking Libra, simply launched, has a 6 MW system with zero emissions.
- Toyota has introduced that it’ll start mass-producing 5 MW PEM electrolysers within the 2029 fiscal 12 months.
- Bosch Hydrogen Vitality has opened an electrolysis facility at Farmington Hills within the US, which includes PEM electrolysis.
- A brand new liquid hydrogen facility of Air Merchandise within the Port of Rotterdam, now 65% full, is on the best way in direction of turning into Europe’s largest liquid hydrogen manufacturing facility when operational in 2027.
- Japan has launched a industrial engine able to producing electrical energy by utilizing a 30% hydrogen mix developed collaboratively by Kawasaki Heavy Trade.
- A hydrogen plasma smelting discount course of for sustainable metal manufacturing from iron-ore, makes use of molecular, atomic and ionised hydrogen as decreasing brokers. A pilot plant with a capability of 100 kg of iron-ore per trial has been in-built Austria.
- Toyota needs to develop into the third shareholder in Cellcentric, the German startup based in 2021, which is collectively owned by Daimler Truck and Volvo. The 4 firms signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to collaborate on gasoline cell know-how, with Toyota bringing three many years of expertise to the desk.
And the record will go on….
