R100 billion green hydrogen project for South Africa

Hive Hydrogen South Africa said it’s seeking proposals from engineering companies to develop the $5.8 billion (R102 billion) green hydrogen project it’s planning in the country’s Eastern Cape province.

The company, a venture between the UK’s Hive Energy Ltd. and South Africa’s BuiltAfrica Group, has asked 15 companies to participate in the process, it said in a statement on Monday. That number was whittled down from the 48 that had expressed interest earlier this year.

A final investment decision is expected in the third quarter of 2026, with production at the site in Coega, near the city of Gqeberha, anticipated to commence three years later, the company stated.

It would make more than 1 million tons of green ammonia a year. The product is a more easily shipped derivative of hydrogen, produced by combining it with nitrogen.

South Africa, with ample solar and wind power potential, is vying with competitors, including neighbouring Namibia, to become a leading producer of the fuel, which is being touted as a way to decarbonise heavy industry and shipping.

It’s generated by using renewable energy to split water molecules, yielding hydrogen, which is then synthesised into a clean-energy source.

Still, critics are sceptical about whether production costs can fall sufficiently for green hydrogen to compete with conventional, carbon-intensive fuels like diesel viably.

Hive Hydrogen has stated that the proposed plant, the largest and most advanced of major green hydrogen projects in South Africa, is intended to serve export markets such as Japan and South Korea.

It has attracted interest from engineering companies in East Asia, Europe and the UK, Yunus Hoosen, a senior official in South Africa’s trade and industry department, said in the statement.