Green Hydrogen Pilot Facility EIA

GHS Green Hydrogen ELIDZ (Pty) Ltd is proposing to develop a 10MW green hydrogen production pilot facility within the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ), Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM). CES has been appointed to undertake the application for environmental authorisation in terms of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA) Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014, as amended) (EIA Regulations) for the proposed facility.

The production of hydrogen and the concept for the proposed Green Hydrogen pilot facility consists of the following key elements:

• Electricity receiving from a solar PV facility;
• Treatment of seawater to meet electrolyser specification, including the management of the resulting brine discharge;
• Production of hydrogen through an electrolysis process and the evacuation of the hydrogen and oxygen;
• Compression and storage of the hydrogen gas; and
• The dispatch of the hydrogen to off-takers.

The uses of the hydrogen produced by the pilot facility include:

1. Replacement of non-critical LPG supply as well as other use cases in industry; and
2. Logistics (fuel cells or internal combustion engines that run on hydrogen).

The proposed Green Hydrogen pilot project comprises a 10 MW modular unit with a total footprint of 130 m x 80 m (~1.02 Ha) and a solar PV facility with a maximum footprint of 20Ha.

The proposed pilot facility is proposed to be located at: 33°3'39"S; 27°50'44"E on erf 60897 of Zone 1A of the ELIDZ, which is zoned for industrial purposes. The site is situated within a Critical Biodiversity Area as defined in the Eastern Cape Biodiversity Conservation Plan (ECBCP, 2019).

Publication date:    20 June 2025
Review period:        None

Contact person:      Amy Lindsay, Principal Consultant
E-mail:                          cesppp@cesnet.co.za
Contact number:    087 830 9809