President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the joint working visit between Denmark and the Netherlands as "very opportune" and important for forging closer cooperation, especially in the energy space.

On Tuesday, the President hosted a joint working visit by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, and the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, in Pretoria.

The visit sought to solidify South Africa’s relationship with the two countries in the areas of green hydrogen, renewable energy and just energy transition.

President Ramaphosa said he is enthused by the Netherlands and Denmark's commitment to working with South Africa to strengthen and deepen economic relations, and become key trading partners in the green hydrogen, green energy sectors, skills development, mining and in manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, infrastructure and innovation.

“Renewable energy forms an increasingly important part of our energy mix and is vital to both the achievement of a just transition and greater energy security. We hope to benefit from closer cooperation with your countries in this regard,” President Ramaphosa said.

He further welcomed and thanked companies and institutions from the Tripartite for the investment announcements and partnerships, which will translate into economic gains and the creation of a business environment conducive to supporting trade and investment.

During the joint official talks, two memoranda of understanding (MOUs) were signed between the Tripartite in the following fields:

• MOU in green hydrogen between South Africa and the Netherlands, led by signatories Prime Minister Rutte and Acting Minister of Electricity, Mondli Gungubele.

• Amended agreement between South Africa and Denmark on development cooperation concerning the 2017 Energy Partnership Programme, led by signatories Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor and Danish Ambassador to South Africa, Tobias Rehfeld.

According to the Presidency, the visit also brought a substantial group of investors to South Africa to reinforce the high levels of cooperation and good relations between South Africa and two important European partners.

Business Forum

The President and the Prime Ministers also participated in a Denmark-Netherlands-South Africa Business Forum hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).

The Business Forum was held under the theme, 'Green Energy Transition and Green Hydrogen Partnerships for Impact', focusing on key areas in green energy and green hydrogen.

The engagements at the forum focused on the green energy sector, increasing investment, as well as partnerships and a social compact emerging from business and labour.

Roundtable discussions were also held on the greening of industry, port development, industrial development support, green mobility, fuel cells and electrolysers, and green energy generation.

The forum saw announcements on investments and partnerships from business and industry leaders from South Africa, Denmark and the Netherlands to enhance and increase trade and investment relations.

The Heads of State and Government witnessed the announcements of investment and partnerships between the three countries, namely:

The establishment of South Africa’s first dedicated green hydrogen fund. The SA-H2 is an innovative blended finance fund that will facilitate and accelerate the development of a green hydrogen sector and circular economy in South Africa. The $1 billion fund is supported by Climate Fund Managers and Invest International of Netherlands, Sanlam, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa.

The Public Infrastructure Fund for Water and Energy: Invest International intends to establish a concessional financing package fund for 300 million euro to finance public infrastructure projects in the water and energy sector. The fund combines loans at 200 million euro and grants of 100 million euro, and will contribute to the just energy transition. Jointly, it offers a complete financial package to assist South Africa in the delivery of public infrastructure plans in the water and energy sector. After this announcement, concrete steps will be taken to sign a MOU to establish the fund and identify public infrastructure projects.

Climate Smart Horticulture Demo Facility (just energy transition): The just energy transition is an opportunity to create sustainable 21st century jobs. In addition to contributing to a climate neutral society, it will also pave the way to establish a healthy and sustainable environment for local communities.

Eskom, in partnership with the Netherlands, has identified the Grootvlei Power Station and its surrounding areas as potential hubs for horticultural production, processing, packaging and distribution. The agro–hub would be just 100km south east of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Through this partnership with the Netherlands, the partnership will have the ability to produce healthy and affordable food and secure high tech jobs in the climate smart agriculture. The first phase is to establish a facility that demonstrates smart ways of farming that are immune to climate change. This climate smart horticulture demonstration facility can produce 50 hectares worth of food on just half a hectare of a greenhouse, creating 15 - 20 permanent jobs per hectare. This facility will be ready in the fourth quarter of this year.

Expansion of the Danish-South Africa Energy Partnership Programme (DEPP), which was initiated in 2011 with the aim of assisting South Africa in meeting the country's climate goals, as set out in the Paris Agreement. The purpose of this bilateral cooperation is to further develop capacity in key energy areas in South Africa and contributions through Danish expertise. The third and current phase of this programme, DEPPIII, will be extended, with an overarching structure consisting of additional focus areas, which include:

• Further development in wind mapping, with a particular focus on Mpumalanga.

• Supporting the development of offshore wind in South Africa, particularly modelling and ocean mapping, with an opportunity to build capacity in relevant industries and ports, and local value chains in the offshore wind industry.

• Capacity building in the electricity market structure, function, regulation, stakeholder roles and responsibilities, as well as the unbundling of Eskom and the expansion of the transmission grid.

Source: South African Government News Agency