German development bank KfW, has issued a request for information (RFI), which seeks to gather information for potential green hydrogen projects in South Africa. The RFI was issued by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Meridian Economics on behalf of KfW. Responses to the RFI are to be submitted by 30 July 2021.
The RFI comes after the German development bank appointed the CSIR and Meridian Economics as advisory partners to support the bank in identifying potential target projects to utilise about €200 million in concessional loan finance to be allocated across a suite of selected green hydrogen projects. The funds are expected to have been disbursed by December 2023 through a South Africa financial institution.
“The CSIR, Meridian Economics and KfW intend to use the information provided in response to this RFI in order to identify hydrogen projects which may be eligible for funding. KfW holds sole discretion over the selection of projects for funding,” said the parties.
Consideration will be given to new projects for the production, transport, export or storage of green hydrogen and its derivatives, as well as projects in existing value chains that support the transition of fossil-based processes to green hydrogen within a specific timeframe, for example in heavy industries, chemicals and transport.
South Africa well position to pioneer Green Hydrogen
South Africa’s rich endowment of world-class renewable energy resources, strong existing technical and financial capabilities, and access to platinum group metals places the country in an extraordinary position to develop a thriving, globally competitive green hydrogen market.
According to KfW, the key objective of this initiative is to support the growth of a green hydrogen economy in South Africa by identifying and supporting high impact project opportunities that best exploit the decarbonisation potential offered by green hydrogen. Support to selected projects will be provided in the form of concessional loan finance.
Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy aims to support the establishment of hydrogen supply chains and develop partner relationships to facilitate the accelerated uptake of green hydrogen as part of the global energy transition.
Interested parties are free to request clarification from, or engage directly with, the project team via email at hydrogenproject@csir.co.za.
