Group’s innovators go fuel steam ahead

Implats has ambitious plans for fuel cell technology, and Mark Smyth found it even operates a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle

 

Implats has a dedicated hydrogen gas pipe running from Sasolburg.

 

Hydrogen fuel cell cars are not new. Like the electric car, the technology arrived and then was killed off. In the case of fuel cell cars, it was the massive costs that forced many carmakers to abandon their plans.

Today, though, the technology is cheaper and hydrogen fuel cell cars are back.
Toyota has its Mirai and Hyundai its ix35, and there are a number of commercial vehicles operating around the world using the technology. Toyota is so committed to hydrogen it has even become involved in the supply chain.

Funky forklift
Here in SA, though, we are firmly entrenched in the world of fossil fuels. Unless you are in Springs. Seriously, Springs?

Yes, because tucked away in this small town outside Johannesburg is a hydrogen vehicle refuelling station.

Standing in the yard at Impala Platinum, it is used to refuel a hydrogen fuel cell forklift.

 

The hydrogen refuelling station at Implats for the prototype forklift. Above:

Company technical experts Fahmida Smith and Sifiso Sibaya have a huge amount of knowledge on the subject. They also have lots of letters behind their names and trying to keep up with some of the technical information is no easy task.

Implats is in a unique position in that it has been using hydrogen since 1969. It even has a hydrogen pipe that runs to its facility direct from Sasolburg. Pure hydrogen has a zero carbon footprint, says Smith, and if you use it in a vehicle, the only emission is water.

Hydrogen is also more efficient than other alternative technologies such as wind and solar. Fossil and nuclear fuels run at just 33% efficiency.

According to international fuel cell manufacturer, Doosan, solar operates at 17% capacity and wind at 25.8% capacity.

Fuel cells, impressively, run at 95% capacity.

Fuel cells also require less space. Solar power requires 12.5km² to generate every gigawatt per hour per year. Wind requires 1km² but a fuel cell system needs just 40m².

 

Forklift operator Stoney Steenkamp appreciates the silent and clean vehicle.

Explaining how a fuel cell works can be complicated, but in simple terms, hydrogen gas travels through a platinum-based catalyst before going into a proton exchange membrane. It is then converted into electrical current before going through another catalyst and combining with oxygen to form water.

These fuel cells can be used for power generation such as in a generator in a building or in a fuel cell in a vehicle.

Implats is even looking at using fuel cell technology to take its refineries off the grid and hopes to do so within 20 years through a phased approach.

However, Smith says the company would take 11 years to amortise its initial capex due to the low Eskom Megaflex tariff.

If it was on a standard municipal tariff, the amortisation would take just one or two years. Interestingly, the Chamber of Mines has already used a fuel cell system to say goodbye to the grid.
Implats has started with baby steps in the form of the forklift. The project uses local partners including academia, Hydrogen SA (HySA) — which is a division of the Department of Science and Technology — and the Department of Trade and Industry.

 

Refuelling takes just a few minutes, less than the time for a petrol vehicle. 

 

Put into operation late last year, the forklift is a locally developed product in collaboration with HySA which uses on-board storage and metal hydride batteries. It has zero emissions, instantaneous response and can operate for longer hours than an electrically powered forklift.

Chatting with the forklift operator, it was clear that aside from the environmental benefits, there is an appreciation for the health advantages of the silence.

At R2m, the refuelling station is not cheap, but it is cheaper than international offerings at €500,000. However, it is unlikely that fuel companies such as Sasol and Total are going to invest that kind of money in hydrogen pumps anytime soon, even if cars such as the Mirai were to arrive.

Land donation
Unlike electric cars, the forklift takes only a couple of minutes to refuel and then it runs all day, every day for a week.

While we can look ahead to a day when fuel cell cars are on our roads, using either hydrogen or biogas, there is still a great deal of ground to cover. Implats has that ground and is looking to donate 16ha to Ekurhleni to create a Gauteng Industrial Development Zone for the development of fuel cell technology.

It is not a selfless plan — a 10% increase in fuel cell penetration would create a 49% increase in platinum demand. But, as Smith points out, rather than SA simply exporting platinum, it could have a real manufacturing presence.

 

If you live in Springs, ask your The Toyota Mirai is one of a growing number of hydrogen fuel cell cars. 

 

Smith and Sibaya are adamant that the future of transportation and off-grid power is fuel cells. So why isn’t Elon Musk looking at this technology?

"Musk won’t go into fuel cells because he’ll just lose face," says Sibaya.

The passion for fuel cells is clear, as is the business case for Implats, so maybe SA could trump its famous son and become the leader that leaves Tesla in its emissions-free wake.