The third renewable green hydrogen webinar was held on Tuesday 8 June 2021 at 14h00. It was hosted by EE Business Intelligence and the German Embassy in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini.
This was the third in a series of five webinars that explore the policies, financing, business case and opportunities in South Africa provided by renewable hydrogen and green powerfuels, in the mining, chemicals, electricity, iron and steel, cement, agriculture and transportation sectors.
The webinar was moderated by Chris Yelland, the managing director of EE Business Intelligence.
Introduction
Yelland explained that interest in hydrogen as a clean energy source began in the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, the CSIR and Hydrogen South Africa (HySA). Originally the focus was on research and development, but since then the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has been focusing on the industrialisation and implementation of hydrogen as a source of clean energy.
Hydrogen produced by means of energy developed from clean resources is referred to as “green hydrogen”. Green hydrogen has moved into the spotlight, Yelland said, and is now a focus of the Infrastructure and Investment Office in the Presidency. This focus will result in the formation of a national green hydrogen strategy, with an emphasis on finance, investment and execution, he said.
The webinar was used to publicly launch an important hydrogen market study report for South Africa commissioned by German think tank Agora Energiewende, and conducted by IHS Markit, a leading international information and insight company advising governments and businesses worldwide. The study analyses the economics and implementation of hydrogen and power-to-x in South Africa.
Click here to download a summary of the report
Click here to read a press release regarding the report
The report is expected to give government labour and business stakeholders a strong fact-base on the opportunity that hydrogen, and ammonia and other power-to-x fuels can offer to South Africa's economic recovery plan to transition to a net-zero carbon pathway, growing the economy, creating jobs, developing national and export energy resources, and helping address climate change and to contribute to the just energy transition.
The Honourable Dr Martin Schafer, the German Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini opened the webinar and explained the relationship Germany and South Africa are forging in the energy sector.
Click here to read a summary of Dr Martin Schafer's address
Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, Head, Infrastructure & Investment Office (IIO) in the Presidency, made the opening keynote address.
Click here to read a summary of Dr Ramokgopa’s keynote address
Download an audio/video recording of the webinar here
This was followed by high-level presentations from IHS Markit, IDC, NBI and KfW Investment Bank.
Presentations at the webinar
Presentation by Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, Head, Infrastructure & Investment Office (IIO), Presidency
Presentation by Dr Andy Barrett, Senior Advisor: Global Energy, IHS Markit
Presentation by Mr Rian Coetzee, Head Basic Metals & Mining, IDC
Presentation by Dr Thomas Duve, Director: Southern Africa and Regional Funds, KfW Development Bank
Video presented by Mr Sean Evans, Executive: Mining and Metals, CIB, Standard Bank
Download an audio/video recording of the webinar here
The presenters
Hon. Martin Schäfer, German Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini
Martin Schäfer has been the German Ambassador to South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini since 2017. He joined the Federal Foreign office in 1996, and served in postings to the German Embassies in Kiev from 1999 to 2002, and then Santiago de Chile from 2002 to 2005. He then worked in the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin from 2005 to 2007, and in the German Embassy in Pretoria from 2007 to 2011. Between 2011 and 2017 he served as the Federal Foreign Office Spokesperson, before being appointed Ambassador to South Africa in 2017. Martin studied law and economics in Germany and Switzerland, and obtained a Masters degree in economics at the University of Montpellier, France. He then went on to study political science, history and sociology at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, and at Ecole Nationale d’Administration Publique in Paris and Strasbourg, France. He obtained a Doctorate in Public International Law at the University of Münster in Germany.
Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa, Head, Infrastructure & Investment Office (IIO) in the Presidency
Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is currently Head of the Investment and Infrastructure office in the office of the President of South Africa. Prior to this, Dr Ramokgopa was Gauteng Member of Executive Committee for Economic Development, Agriculture and Environment. Previously, he has held the position of Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane between 2010 and 2016, and at the time he was one of the youngest Mayors of a Metropolitan Municipality in the country. Dr Ramokgopa has previously held the positions of CEO for both the Metropolitan Trading Company and the Johannesburg Market, and he has previously been the Deputy Chairperson of the board of Trade and Investment in Limpopo. Dr Ramokgopa holds a PhD from the University of Pretoria, a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Pretoria and a Masters of Business Leadership from the University of South Africa. He completed his BSc Civil Engineering at the University of Durban Westville in 1998.
Dr Andy Barrett, Senior Advisor: Global Energy, IHS Markit
Andy Barrett has an extensive 40+ year background at the highest levels of the international energy business, including senior executive and board experience with Shell and the BG Group. For over 15 years, Andy has led IHS Markit consulting studies for governments and major corporate stakeholders, including upstream and downstream gas and LNG companies, power producers, utilities and renewables developers. He previously co-headed IHS Markit’s European Policy Dialog, linking the EU Commission with key industrial stakeholders for the EU energy transition and liberalisation agenda. Alongside his work with IHS Markit, he holds or has held chairs and directorships in renewables, LNG, utility and energy technology companies. He holds a Doctorate from Oxford University, is qualified with the Institute of Chemical Engineers, and is an alumnus of Wharton Business School. He is a Senior Visiting Fellow with KAPSARC in Saudi Arabia, and has been appointed an Adjunct Professor with the Haskayne Business School of the University of Calgary, contributing to their energy executive MBA program.
Mr Rian Coetzee, Head Basic Metals & Mining, Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC)
Zacharias Rian Coetzee is an economist and holds a Master’s degree in Quantitative Economics. He started his career as a statistician, and later became lecturer in economics. He joined the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in 1995 as an industry analyst and advisor on policy and economic modelling. As Head of the Development Funding Department, he was responsible for design and management of various special impact funds under management of the IDC. He was also chairperson of the Support Programme for Industrial Innovation (SPII) in 2004. He became head of the Agro-Industries Business Unit within the IDC, and was responsible for an investment portfolio of R5,5-billion consisting of various horticultural and agro-industrial investments. Rian currently heads the newly-formed Industry Planning and Projects Development Unit of the IDC, and also acts as executive in that Division. The Unit is responsible for the implementation of new industrial initiatives and master plans, and provides pre-commercialisation funding for project development.
Mr Steve Nicholls, Head of Environmental Sustainability, National Business Initiative (NBI)
Steve Nicholls leads the Environment and Society programmes at the National Business Initiative (NBI). In this role he runs the programmes that harness the collective effort of business across the areas of Energy, Climate Change and Water. Steve also leads the NBI programme on the Sustainable Development Goals and National Development Plan. Steve’s key focus is on connecting environmental issues with economic impact, and therefore building the strategic case for business to integrate environmental and sustainability issues into their core business areas of strategy, risk management and implementation. Prior to joining the NBI, Steve has worked in the consulting industry in the UK and South Africa and on projects in Europe and Southern and East Africa across several sectors, including mining, telecoms, government, electrical energy, oil and gas, financial services and retail. Prior to joining the NBI, Steve worked within the strategy team at Accenture. Steve has also worked within KPMGs advisory and assurance team, and has completed a number of advisory, reporting and verification engagements on sustainability and voluntary carbon credit data.
Dr Thomas Duve, Director: Southern Africa and Regional Funds, KfW Development Bank
Dr Thomas Duve joined KfW in 1995, and since August 2010 he has been Director in the Africa region, currently for the Southern Africa Department, with a multisectoral portfolio of approximately €4-billion. His work has focussed on renewable energy and energy efficiency, HIV/AIDS, biodiversity and agricultural finance. Before entering the Business Policy Department, Thomas worked at KfW Development Bank as Head of the Unit for West Africa, with a focus on water and health projects. Previous posts were Sector Economist for biodiversity and public transport, and project manager in West Africa, with a special focus on health and HIV/AIDS projects. Prior to KfW Development Bank, Thomas worked in rural development projects with GIZ in Ghana and Burkina. After graduating from Justus Liebig University in Giessen in 1984 with a degree in geography and biology, Thomas carried out research on plant diseases in South Korea and the Philippines. He obtained a PhD in 1989, and completed a Postgraduate Course in Rural Development in 1990.
Mr Sean Evans, Executive: Mining and Metals, CIB, Standard Bank
Sean Evans holds a BSc Honours degree from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Geology, and an MBA from the University of the Witwatersrand. Sean has a cumulative 25-years’ experience in the mining industry, and prior to joining the Standard Bank he worked in West Africa as an exploration geologist for Anglo American and AngloGold, as well as a senior technical consultant for The Mineral Corporation, a mining consulting company. Sean joined Standard Bank in 2006 in the Mergers & Acquisitions team, where he originated and executed transactions in the mining sector. Sean's career spanned several years in the Mergers & Acquisitions team, and was followed by a move to Client Coverage where he is currently the mining sector specialist responsible for the Platinum Group Metals and Diamond sub-sectors. He is also coordinating Standard Bank's strategy and response in respect of the opportunities presented by the hydrogen economy.
Acknowledgement of support
EE Business Intelligence acknowledges the generous support received from KfW Investment Bank, IHS Markit, Agora Energiewende, Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), National Business Initiative (NBI) and Standard Bank.
For further information
Contact Chris Yelland, EE Business Intelligence, chris.yelland@ee.co.za
