JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – In fewer than three years, major Johannesburg Stock Exchange secondary-listed mining giant BHP will be shipping ore from Australia to Asia in a greener manner amid intensification of transportation greening across the world.

Living up to its stated purpose of helping to build a better world, the Melbourne-headquartered BHP, founded as Broken Hill Proprietary as long ago as 1885, has signed contracts with the Shanghai-headquartered COSCO Shipping Bulk colossus for the initial charter of two green ammonia dual-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carriers, which will transport iron-ore from Western Australia to Northeast Asia from 2028.

Interestingly, this green ammonia initiative is emerging at a time when South Africa’s own $5.8-billion Hive Hydrogen Coega Green Ammonia Project is working hard to give the lead in low-cost ammonia output from Nelson Mandela Bay, in the Eastern Cape.

Globally, greening strides are continuing, even in the US, where the Senate’s passing of its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill has extended the clean hydrogen tax credits, which had the US-based Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association declaring the outcome as “a significant win for our sector”.

Simultaneously, Canada’s Ballard has announced the signing of a new supply agreement with California rail operator Sierra Northern Railway for the supply this year of 1.5 MW of green hydrogen fuel cell engines.

Also, French multinational rolling stock manufacturer Alstom, which has strong South African ties, has opened its Delta hydrogen fuel cell megafactory in Aix-en-Provence, accelerating Europe’s zero-emission mobility future and scaling up hydrogen infrastructure.

DHL Freight, along with BMW, last month put two trucks into real operation as part of the green hydrogen-based H2Haul project. Funded by the EU’s Clean Hydrogen Partnership, the H2Haul project is testing and researching hydrogen trucks with fuel cell drivetrains under realistic conditions. The project is intended to pave the way for the commercialisation of fuel cell trucks in Europe.

On June 18, Toyota Motor Europe and VDL Groep announced a collaboration to integrate Toyota’s fuel cell system into heavy-duty trucks. Following the first demonstration truck, Toyota has now deployed four more vehicles on its logistics routes across Belgium (Diest), France (Lille), Germany (Cologne), and the Netherlands (Rotterdam and Weesp).

MINERALS SHIPPING

When run on lower or low to zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions green ammonia, ships are capable of reducing GHG emissions by up to 95% on a per-voyage basis compared with a conventionally fuelled voyage.

The BHP-COSCO advance towards a decarbonised shipping future is poised to strengthen the demand for lower or low to zero GHG emissions marine fuels, which is important in the effort to scale up production of alternative fuels.

As one of the world’s largest dry bulk charterers, BHP sees this as an opportunity to help establish a pathway for green ammonia to be a marine fuel for a globally significant industry where emissions can be difficult to abate.

“Our tender process for the design and charter of ammonia dual-fuelled bulk carriers has brought together shipowners, fuel suppliers, engine-makers, and regulatory bodies from around the world,” BHP VP maritime and supply chain excellence Emma Roberts stated in a release to Mining Weekly.

The deal boosts the transition to net zero led by the ‘Australia–China Green Shipping Corridor’ aspiration.

“Ammonia is one of the most promising marine fuels with zero-carbon potential. These vessels will stand at the forefront of technological and environmental advancement,” said COSCO Shipping VP Ji Lin.

“Looking ahead, COSCO Shipping will continue to work closely with BHP to help accelerate the transition to net-zero shipping, scale up innovation, and help shape a more sustainable and resilient global supply chain,” Lin promised.

BLENDED SOUTH AFRICAN FINANCE

Hive Hydrogen South Africa executive chairperson Thulani Gcabashe drew attention, at last month's Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town, to South Africa having the infrastructure, resources, engineering and industrial capabilities to become a global leader in green ammonia production.

South Africa’s State-owned Public Investment Corporation, the State-owned Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa and the Development Bank of Southern Africa have committed the equivalent of $37-million to South Africa’s SA-H2 green hydrogen fund, also known as CI3 South Africa.

The pioneering blended finance SA-H2 facility has been designed to stimulate the energy transition with a core focus on the green hydrogen value chain, supporting inclusive economic growth, and driving job creation.

The fund is managed by a partnership between leading climate finance investor, Climate Fund Managers (CFM), and a Dutch development finance institution, Invest International.

On June 12, SA-H2 announced its first $20-million in development funding for the Hive Hydrogen Coega Green Ammonia Project. Hive will become South Africa’s first large-scale green ammonia production plant, producing a million tonnes of green ammonia a year for export. The project will ensure that an annual 2.6-million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent does not pollute our planet and create more than 20 000 jobs during construction and operations.

“The Hive Coega Green Ammonia Project will not only accelerate the just energy transition but also revitalise the Eastern Cape economy through job creation, infrastructure investment and skills development. SA-H2's investment strengthens our ability to deliver this Lighthouse project to world-class technical, operational, environmental, and social standards, while attracting long-term international investors and partners," said Gcabashe, a former Standard Bank chairperson and Eskom CEO.

Hive Hydrogen South Africa is a joint venture between Hive Energy UK and Gcabashe’s BuiltAfrica. Its Hive Coega Green Ammonia Project in the Coega Special Economic Zone forms a key part of the country’s green hydrogen roadmap and is supported by early-stage international offtakers and public-private stakeholders.

SA-H2 builds on the track record of CFM’s Climate Investor One and Climate Investor Two Funds, which have together mobilised over $2-billion in clean energy, water and climate-resilient infrastructure across emerging markets.

The $5.8-billion project on South Africa's east coast seeks to use the country's infrastructure and cheap renewable power to make some of the world's cheapest green ammonia for clients in Europe and Asia, an executive said.

African partner BuiltAfrica, is expected to ship around one-million metric tons a year of green ammonia to clients by late 2029, Hive Energy's Africa CEO Colin Loubser has told Reuters.

"Our project, we believe, will provide the lowest cost green ammonia globally," he said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Cape Town.

The project can use existing infrastructure and ample wind and solar energy. A desalination plant on site, operated by South Africa's biggest salt-maker by volume Cerebos, for example, will also help to offset capital expenditure.

Green hydrogen, green ammonia and green hydrogen fuel cells go hand-in-glove with platinum group metals, which are mined extensively in South Africa.