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A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the two nations on Monday, with the goal of supporting the reduction of carbon emissions in the domestic economy.
The agreement will allow for the transfer of technologies from Japan to help South Africa decarbonise, especially industries that have proved hard to abate or reduce emissions.
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande said the agreement would allow for partnerships to facilitate training and development in critical and technical skills needed for the growing hydrogen economy, as well as developing necessary standards for hydrogen production, transportation and regulatory frameworks.
Furthermore, the two countries intend to work together commercialising intellectual property that is locally developed, which Nzimande says will lead to licencing opportunities “both ways”.
Notably, the two countries mean to work on carboncapture technologies – which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This is a very expensive technology, and some researchers believe it should be a last resort when cheaper alternatives like rolling out more solar and wind technology are more feasible to reduce emissions.
However, SA’s government is still open to pursuing this technology.
“South Africa will use the Memorandum of Cooperation to increase commercial partnerships with Japan in the Carbon Capture and Use technologies,” Nzimande said.
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“South Africa and Japan enjoy a long-standing bilateral relationship since the signing of a Science and Technology Agreement in 2003,” said Nzimande. The two countries have also collaborated on a green ammonia project.
Nzimande is leading a delegation in Japan at Tokyo GX Week, which involves international meetings on the shift toward clean energy. Nzimande participated in a plenary session hosted by Japan’s Minister of Ecnomy, Trade and Industry (METI), Yasutoshi Nishimura.
Nzimande also participated in the sixth Hydrogen Energy Ministerial Meeting – which involved discussions on cooperation for the development of hydrogen energy.
Since the first meeting in 2018, 41 governments developed national hydrogen strategies. The Department of Science and Innovation in 2018 released its Hydrogen Society Roadmap – which focuses on integrating hydrogen-related technologies in different sectors of the economy.
In June, South Africa launched a new fund dedicated to green hydrogen projects, mainly seeded with Dutch support.