PIC adopts hydrogen investment strategy

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has adopted a hydrogen investment strategy aimed at unlocking value through funding and the provision of early-stage capital for the development of the hydrogen value chain.

Sekgoela Sekgoela, a Senior Investor Relations Specialist at the PIC, on Monday said the strategy further seeks to leverage on more than 200 hydrogen projects that have been announced worldwide and the more than $250 billion (approximately R4.3 trillion) required for the development of a hydrogen economy in South Africa.

“The South African government, through its Hydrogen Roadmap, has identified hydrogen as a possible investment avenue. Hydrogen promises to be the next frontier in clean energy technology due to its extensive value chain applications.

“It can be used to industrialise and create a resultant hydrogen economy. Other benefits include job creation and localised manufacturing, and the potential of turning the country into one of the largest exporters of green hydrogen in the world,” said Sekgoela.

Moreover, he said, South Africa has significant renewable energy potential, given its high solar radiation levels, as well as a large area of coastline for wind deployment.

“Hydrogen can augment renewable energy production by offering a relatively affordable way to store and transport the excess energy produced from these sources. South Africa also hosts the world’s largest Platinum Group Metals resources, which benefit significantly from increased demand that could arise from a well-developed hydrogen sector,” Sekgoela said.

The adoption of the strategy comes at a time when several countries around the world are increasingly considering making use of hydrogen as a potential clean energy source.

The Hydrogen Roadmap has identified the PIC as a potential co-investor with other finance institutions in hydrogen projects. The roadmap is one of government’s strategies and policy direction aimed at bringing together a variety of public and private stakeholders and institutions around a common vision on how to use and deploy hydrogen and hydrogen-related technologies, as part of the country’s economic development and greening objectives.