The University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) wealth of knowledge in green hydrogen energy and its proven track record in developing the latest technology in the field of hydrogen has earned the institution the right to train the country’s decision-makers at public and private sector level.
The University has become the first in South Africa to secure a tender for the implementation of green hydrogen and PtX (conversion technologies that turn electricity into carbon-neutral synthetic fuels) training workshops for politicians and senior government officials at all levels and private sector decision makers. UWC came out top in a tender process among other top universities awarded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
The two-year contract will see UWC’s South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC) conducting around 12 coaching sessions – six scheduled for 2024 and the remainder for 2025. The sessions will be hosted by SAIAMC’s Green Hydrogen Programme under the guidance of Dr Stanford Chidziva.
“This is a vote of confidence for the new technology. It’s a recognition that the new technologies in the field are game changers. We also see this as a vote of confidence in what we are doing at UWC, and this will further enhance our reputation.”
Dr Chidziva believes that UWC’s wealth of knowledge in the field of hydrogen energy and the technologies they have produced over the years gave UWC the competitive edge during the tender process to train South African decision makers offered by the GIZ.
The ongoing green hydrogen research conducted at SAIAMC is meticulously focused on the production, storage, and practical utilisation of green hydrogen, especially in mobility and storage applications, said Dr Chidziva.
“The wealth of knowledge and expertise accumulated through this initiative holds great potential for implementation in diverse project sites, both domestically and internationally,” he said.
Among the many systems that have come through the programme are the state-of-the-art technologies in water electrolysis, hydrogen compression and storage, dispensing and fuel cells that have been developed over two decades at UWC.
Notably, this technology’s growth momentum was catalysed when SAIAMC, and a leading international electrolyser company, initiated a green hydrogen proof of concept (POC) project in Vredendal in the Western Cape.
“This POC stands as one of South Africa’s pioneering endeavours to demonstrate the feasibility of producing green hydrogen by utilising solar energy as the primary energy source. The site houses a 100kW photovoltaic solar system, which harnesses solar energy to produce green hydrogen. This clean and sustainable hydrogen will find application in various industrial processes and power fuel cell vehicles in the not-so-distant future.”
The first PTX Hub Green Hydrogen Power to X high-level training course presented by the University of the Western Cape will take place from the 26th to 27th of March at UWC. Take note that the registration is on a first come first serve basis. So, RSVP latest by the 19th of March 2024.