In a country grappling with unemployment, green energy may help to turn the tide.

The hydrogen sector has the capacity to create more than 30,000 jobs by 2040 -- or so the Green Energy Africa Summit heard this week.

Merita Wickens, the project director at Turner & Townsend and workstream lead of operationalisation of the Hydrogen Society Roadmap (HSR), told delegates that the hydrogen sector was targeting 10GW electrolysis capacity in the Northern Cape by 2030, with plans to increase that to 15GW by 2040.

"If successful, that would mean we could create more than 30,000 jobs by 2040," she said.

Although South Africa's official unemployment rate has eased to 32.6%, its lowest since mid-2021, the number of jobs going to young people is declining. PwC's economic outlook for September 2023 reports that, of the 784,000 jobs created over the past year, only 45,000 went to those aged 15-24.

The Hydrogen Society Roadmap

Spearheaded by the Department of Science and Innovation, the HSR sets out a strategy and policy directives to unite stakeholders to drive hydrogen technology forward, as well as accelerate the country's economic growth.

One of the key aims as outlined by the HSR is for SA to produce 500,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. Key projects include the Sakhumnotho Power...