South Africa: Anglo American Platinum, BMW Group And Sasol Seek To Develop South African Fuel-Cell Car Ecosystem

Anglo American Platinum, BMW Group South Africa (BMW SA) and Sasol have signed a deal to work together to develop infrastructure that will encourage the production and use of hydrogen-powered vehicles in South Africa.

The three companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday at the ongoing Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town, South Africa.

BMW will provide the hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles, while Sasol will supply the green hydrogen and mobile refueler.

Anglo American Platinum, which provides platinum group metals (PGMs) used in FCEVs and has been investing in hydrogen technologies for many years, will work closely with BMW and Sasol to help develop a local green hydrogen mobility ecosystem, a statement issued by Sasol said.

“These vehicles will operate on South African roads as part of an international trial to understand how the BMW iX5 Hydrogen performs in real-world conditions, following four years of development work,’’ the statement said.

Hydrogen vehicles are struggling to take off because of high costs and a fledgling fueling infrastructure.

Two years ago, Sasol, a top emitter of greenhouse gases in South Africa, partnered with Toyota Motor Corp on a pilot project to research the use of the fuel along freight corridors, while Anglo American invested as much as $70 million on a 220-ton hydrogen-fueled vehicle.

With Anglo American Platinum’s platinum group metals (PGMs) already present in the vehicles’ fuel-cell systems, the mining group would provide funding towards the project, said CEO Craig Miller, as part of its effort to drive the global market uptake of PGMs.

Miller noted that PGMs demand would increase by five-million ounces a year if FCEVs capture 10% of the global new-vehicle market, at 100 000 units a year.

BMW SA CEO Peter van Binsbergen explained that the iX5 Hydrogen refuels in three to four minutes, providing 500 km range on its 6 kg tank.

“FCEVs benefit from short refuelling times and long ranges, similar to using a diesel or petrol vehicle, but with the added benefit of zero emissions,” said Miller.

While the battery electric vehicle (BEV), with its generally shorter range, may currently be winning the new-energy-vehicle race, as it was cheaper than a FCEV, Van Binsbergen expected the price gap to start closing significantly by the end of the decade.

FCEVs also required less critical minerals than BEVs, he said, “and I’d rather support the PGMs industry in South Africa”.

China has, to date, secured a significant chunk of the global BEV battery value-chain.

Sasol Energy Business executive VP Priscillah Mabelane said Sasol was currently producing 150 kg of green hydrogen a day, but that this could soon go to 3 t or 4 t a day as the energy group expanded its renewable energy production.

She said Sasol was targeting the electric mobility; chemicals; steel and sustainable fuels sectors with its production of green hydrogen.

“We produced our first batch of green hydrogen at our Sasolburg facility in June, and in 2024 we will ramp this up to commercial scale when a 69 MW wind farm, situated in the Eastern Cape, comes online.”