US President Joe Biden travelled to Philadelphia last week to announce the recipients of R132 billion in federal grants across 16 states for the development of seven regional hydrogen hubs, advancing a key part of a plan to decarbonise the US economy.
The announcement of the funding to boost manufacturing and blue-collar jobs was held in Pennsylvania – a state that could determine the 2024 presidential election – underscoring the power Biden wields as he spends the upcoming months doling out money flowing from his landmark pieces of legislation that remain largely unknown to large swaths of the American public.
The seven proposed hubs involving companies ranging from Exxon Mobil to Amazon were selected, with their projects spanning 16 states from Pennsylvania to California.
The programme is intended to jump-start the production of "clean hydrogen" along with the infrastructure needed to get it to industrial users like steelmakers and cement plants.
"I'm here to announce one of the largest advanced manufacturing investments in the history of this nation," Biden said. "He noted that the total investment will reach R948 billion when taking into account additional investments from private companies.
Some 79 proposals had initially applied for the money.
Hydrogen is produced by electrolysing water, and the fuel can be considered clean – or low-emission – if it is produced using renewable energy, nuclear energy or natural gas with carbon-capture technology included.
Biden's administration has set a target to increase clean hydrogen output to 10 million metric tons by 2030, and 50 million by 2050, up fivefold from today – and considers the fuel an ideal option for cutting emissions from tough-to-decarbonise industrial users like steel and cement.
Industry representatives have expressed concerns about the economics of rapid development, however, citing high interest rates, inflation and uncertainty around permitting and access to additional federal subsidies.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) announced its participation in the sixth annual Smarter Mobility Africa summit, which kicked of 1 October and continues till the 4 October at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
South Africa’s first electric minibus taxi model, the eKamva, was launched by a consortium led by GoMetro, alongside an integrated new electric vehicle (EV) business model and charging infrastructure product called flx EV at the Smarter Mobility Africa summit.
A modest increase in passenger car sales in an overall market that continued its downward trend in September 2024 offered hope that the market may be slowly turning, says National Automobile Dealers Association (Nada) national chairperson, Brandon Cohen.
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You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do.
Henry Ford
South Africa’s first electric minibus taxi model, the eKamva, was launched by a consortium led by GoMetro, alongside an integrated new electric vehicle (EV) business model and charging infrastructure product called flx EV at the Smarter Mobility Africa summit.
JLR has announced an R11-billion (£500 million) investment to transform its historic Halewood facility to support the parallel production of electric vehicles, alongside existing combustion and hybrid models.
Ahead of Zero Emissions Day on 21 September 2024, Zero Carbon Charge reaffirms its commitment to driving sustainable, zero-emission mobility in South Africa.
