A master thesis from Aalborg University
Opportunities for a green hydrogen market: The case of South Africa and the European Union
Author(s)
Term
4. Term
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-06-02
Pages
69 pages
Abstract
The narrative of this project argued that South Africa is a prominent coal exporter, however, the country finds itself in a predicament as coal demand dwindles due to global energy transitions. The project outlined South Africa's comparative advantages and asserted these can be leveraged to unlock an alternative low carbon trade market in the form of green hydrogen. As such, the following research problem was identified: "Using green hydrogen as an enabler for decarbonisation between 2030 and 2050 in the industrial sector, how will the projected increase in the EU's hydrogen demand influence SA's ability to export carbon-free energy?". Altogether, the viability of hydrogen from South Africa to Europe was analysed as a case study. This lead to an extensive review of the economics of producing, storing, and transporting hydrogen. Literature review and stakeholder interviews were among the methods utilised for collecting and validating information. While the Inductive, Carbon Lock-in and Multilevel Perspective theories were adopted as the worldview of the project. Finally, recognising that it takes time for emerging technologies to reach commercial viability, the project proposed policy recommendations to foster the development of a scaled green hydrogen market in South Africa.
Keywords
Green hydrogen ; South Africa ; European Union ; export ; production ; storage ; transport
Documents
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