- World Bank predicts that the demand for hydrogen will increase to 500-680 million metric tons by 2050.
- South Africa plans to leverage abundant solar and wind energy sources to attract U.S.$250 Billion into the country’s green hydrogen industry.
According to the World Bank, the demand for hydrogen reached an estimated 87 million metric tons (MT) in 2020 and is expected to increase to 500-680 million MT by 2050, with a corresponding growth in the hydrogen production market value.
Further Africa reported South Africa’s plan to attract as much as US$250 billion into its green hydrogen industry by 2050 while taking advantage of its solar and wind energy sources. The plan was elucidated at COP27 by Masopha Moshoeshoe, a green economy specialist in the South African Presidency’s investment and infrastructure office, as he stated that the industry could create 1.4 million jobs and generate as much as US$30 billion in annual revenue by that year.
The country has abundant solar and wind resources at very competitive prices. Additionally, the mining industry could help scale-up green hydrogen, making it even more competitive in the medium- and long term. These conditions, coupled with a conducive environment for public-private partnerships and leveraging of private sector resources, are comparative advantages of the clean hydrogen industry in South Africa.
With its abundant resources and a proven path for developing innovative technologies in renewable energy, the plan involves satisfying local demand of between two and five million tons and exporting about eight million tons of clean-burning fuel and its derivatives by 2050.