The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has launched the Hydrogen Coordination Office (HCO) to support the implementation of South Africa’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap (HSRM).
This was announced by Mandy Mlilo, Acting Chief Director for Hydrogen and Energy at the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, during a briefing to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Electricity and Energy on September 16.
“This office gives us a central point for coordination while we build the longer-term structures needed for the hydrogen economy,” said Mlilo.
The HCO is a temporary structure tasked with monitoring catalytic projects, supporting government departments involved in hydrogen development and coordinating the rollout of hydrogen initiatives. It will function until a permanent structure is established.
According to Mlilo, the HCO will track the progress of projects identified in the HSRM, which was approved by Cabinet in September 2021. These projects include hydrogen production, storage, distribution and applications in stationary and mobile uses.
The HCO operates under the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation Energy Secretariat of the South African National Energy Development Institute, which manages four energy research, development and innovation programmes:
- Renewable energy
- Energy storage
- Hydrogen South Africa (HySA)
- Carbon capture and use
“The HySA programme has built technical capacity for platinum group metal-based catalysts for fuel cells and electrolyser technologies. It has also established three centres of competence, focusing on hydrogen production, storage and distribution, and systems integration,” Mlilo said.
