The “Fuel of the Future” and Water Insecurity in South Africa’s Platinum Belt

May 16, 2022 | Tokollo Matsabu
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Hydrogen fuel is becoming a central pillar of global decarbonization strategies. The hype over green hydrogen (the “fuel of the future”) and its potential to provide an abundance of low carbon fuel to transportation and industry has enticed several major emitting countries to scale up its production. And a UN-backed initiative wants to achieve a 50-fold production increase in the next six years.

How will it happen? Mining for platinum group metals (PGMs), which are critical to unlocking green hydrogen’s potential. These metals are used as a catalyst in electrolyzers that use renewable energy to split water. Current platinum production only supports 3 gigawatts (GW) to 7 GW of manufacturing capacity. But present ambitions call for PGM production that will need to satisfy demands for 100 GW by 2030.