JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Green hydrogen, which is produced with the help of platinum group metals (PGMs), could become the catalyst for new green iron, green steel, green chemicals and beneficiation industries built on South Africa's mineral and renewable-energy advantages.

“The real prize is not hydrogen — it’s industrialisation. The opportunity is significant if South Africa can align infrastructure, investment and skills development,” Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy president Gary Lane pointed out on LinkedIn in response to Mining Weekly’s report on June 5 about South Africa’s green hydrogen and power-to-x (PtX) project development standard (PDS).

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau and Electricity and Energy Deputy Minister Samantha Graham-Maré officially launched the PtX PDS on May 19 during the World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam.

The initiative, which provides significant first-mover support, is described as marking an important step towards strengthening South Africa’s pipeline of credible, investment-ready green hydrogen and PtX projects by Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan Programme Management Office stakeholder specialist Collins Nyamadzawo.

The standard introduces a structured and transparent process through which project developers can demonstrate technical, commercial, financial, and operational readiness through the standardised questionnaire and assessment platform aligned with investor and development finance institution expectations.

PGMs, with which Southern Africa is very well endowed, are key in electrolysers that turn water into green hydrogen and then also key in turning hydrogen back into green electricity for green steel, green cement, green chemicals, data centres, AI, off-grid communities, and many other products as well as mobility.

In Namibia, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, which has announced a strategic partnership with GIZ Namibia, is inviting qualified firms or consortia to submit proposals for the development of an enterprise and supplier development programme tailored specifically for Namibia’s emerging green hydrogen industry.
 
Hyphen is committed to ensuring that Namibia’s green energy future is built and benefits Namibian enterprises.

Kenya has reportedly approved 15 projects targeting a combined 5 GW of captive renewable-energy generation, marking the East African country’s move to enter the global hydrogen economy.

The initiatives are designed to leverage Kenya’s energy mix, which already derives over 90% of its power from renewable sources such as geothermal, wind, and solar to develop entirely new industrial value chains. Specifically, these projects will focus on the local production of green ammonia and zero-emission fertilisers, sustainable aviation fuel, methanol, and hydrogen-based green steel.

By prioritising these sectors, Kenya aims to spark export-led industrialisation and establish itself as a primary supplier within the emerging global clean-energy supply chain, moving from a position of strategic leadership rather than from the margins.

As the world looks beyond batteries alone, PGMs are once again becoming a strategic conversation, it was stated in a release on June 8 to publicise Zimbabwe’s upcoming Zimbabwe Mining Week, the special focus of which will be the future of PGMs in a hydrogen economy amid the next chapter of the energy transition beginning with platinum.

To support the automotive sector’s energy transition, Toyota South Africa has announced that it will invest R10.4-billion in KwaZulu-Natal to strengthen local manufacturing for a more sustainable future. Toyota North America, meanwhile, plans to deploy hydrogen fuel cell-powered Class 8 trucks in its commercial logistics fleets by early 2027. The automotive company has also signed an agreement with Air Liquide for the supply of hydrogen fuel for the company’s growing fleet. The brand-new Toyota TR LH2 racing prototype is to take to the track powered by liquid hydrogen.

The World Platinum Investment Council has reported that an integrated, mobile hydrogen refuelling system designed to bring fast, reliable hydrogen infrastructure directly to site has been launched. HyKit’s mobile hydrogen refueller has a refuelling turnaround time of around ten to 15 minutes and a total hydrogen capacity of 75 kg, supporting up to seven vehicles at a time.

Under a strategic alliance signed at last month’s World Hydrogen Summit in Rotterdam, Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Ecolog will collaborate to enable the transportation of liquid hydrogen from Al Duqm in Oman to the Port of Amsterdam and onwards into Germany and wider Europe.

Under the European Hydrogen Bank's 'Auctions-as-a-Service' for green hydrogen projects in Denmark, Global Hydrogen Review announced on June 1 that Everfuel has received notification for production support of €0.98/kg hydrogen corresponding to €244.9-million. The support is for 200 MW electrolyser capacity in the first phase of Everfuel’s Project Frigg.

It is also reported that China’s 49-ton Dongfeng hydrogen truck, which has a 400 kW fuel cell platform,  refuels in 15 minutes to runs of 1 060 miles.

China is the clear global leader in terms of green hydrogen, with more than one million tonnes a year of production capacity installed or under construction — roughly double the amount across the whole of Europe.

The national government aims to expand the country's green hydrogen industry significantly between now and the end of 2030, according to its 15th Five-Year Plan, with all 31 mainland provinces having now published individual hydrogen strategies in their own 2026 to 2030 five-year plans.

In the Netherlands, the first proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser arrays for the Air Liquide ELYgator project at the Port of Rotterdam have landed on site and are now positioned on their foundations. At 200 MW, this installation is designed to produce 23 000 t of renewable hydrogen every year,  industrial volumes capable of avoiding up to 300 000 t of CO₂ a year. PEM electrolysers are catalysed by PGMs.

Air Liquide will invest more than €500-million to build, own and operate the electrolyser, supplying notably TotalEnergies’ industrial platform through a long-term contract. The project aims to be operational by the end of 2027.

In Scotland, the Hychor startup, which will be producing green hydrogen from seawater, has completed an equity funding round and opened a new research and development facility, as it advances toward industrial pilot projects planned for 2027.

Meanwhile, on the PGMs front, the expansion of AI infrastructure is driving demand for platinum in tools to produce electrical-grade fibreglass for printed circuit boards.

A feature of platinum is that it is exceptionally resistant to heat and wear. In fibreglass production, platinum-rhodium bushings are used to draw molten glass into fine fibres at extremely high temperatures. Fibreglass produced this way is used to produce electrical-grade glass (E-glass) yarn which can be woven to create different types of E-glass fabric.

Known for its high strength and excellent electrical insulation, E-glass fabric is an important component in a printed circuit board (PCB). AI servers and data centre equipment cannot function without PCBs and, as AI workload increases, PCB designs are evolving to support higher speeds and frequencies, especially through the integration of low-Dk or low loss materials. 

Platinum glass demand is forecast to increase by 83% year-on-year to 377 000 oz in 2026. Growth will be driven by renewed expansion in fibreglass applications, supported by the return of capacity additions and stronger demand from higher value end-uses, including those linked to AI.