Hydrogen Society Roadmap, South Africa

Launched in February 2022, the Hydrogen Society Roadmap (HSRM) sets out South Africa’s ambitions for the development of its hydrogen economy. Key to its implementation is an assessment of the current enabling environment and institutional framework to create a one-stop-shop to drive the HSRM’s targeted outcomes.

Realising the roadmap

Since February 2023, we have been working with the Department of Science and Innovation to support its implementation of the HSRM. Our focus is to optimise how the South African Government engages with stakeholders in the hydrogen value chain to support low-emission hydrogen initiatives. A key deliverable is defining clear accountabilities across the hydrogen programme’s lifecycle with effective and transparent governance and reporting at all levels.

Creating new paths for collaboration

We are supporting the department by developing a target operating model, which incorporates global best-practice systems to encourage effective collaboration between government, academia and business. At the heart of the model is the migration from strategy and intent to structuring and realising the programme’s benefits.

Specifically, our work involves identifying the strategic levers the programme must use to achieve an integrated approach to hydrogen policies across stakeholder groups. This includes developing the business and delivery model, addressing change-management issues, and developing the organisational and governance model.

Leveraging our global expertise

A vital part of the work is to develop knowledge-sharing between South Africa and the UK. This has been achieved through leveraging the South Africa/UK Hydrogen Trade Mission’s agenda, set up by the UK2070 Commission to explore potential trade relationships for generating business opportunities in hydrogen manufacturing. The establishment of South Africa/UK hydrogen task forces to accelerate hydrogen technology and infrastructure adoption is another key element of the project.