H2Au Signs 3 TCP Contracts For Natural Hydrogen in South Africa
H2Au Limited (“H2Au” or the “Company”), a privately-owned natural hydrogen exploration company, is pleased to announce the signature of its TCP contracts (the “Contracts”) with the Petroleum Agency of South Africa (PASA) and confirms the official grant of all three permits for a total of 3.7 Million Acres /15,000 sq. km of exclusive contract area.
The signing took place in Cape Town, South Africa on the 6th November between Dr Tschepo Mokoka, CEO of PASA, and Owain Jackson, CEO of H2Au and duly executed the deeds for TCP's 249, 250 and 251 situated in the North West, Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces of South Africa.
Highlights
1. Exclusive Exploration Rights:
The Contracts grant H2Au 100% exclusive rights to conduct technical studies aimed at exploring hydrogen gas resources for one year. H2Au also holds the exclusive option to convert the Contracts to Exploration Rights, subject to approval from the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa.
2. Focus on Hydrogen Exploration:
H2Au will undertake geological and geophysical studies to explore hydrogen plays within the Contract areas and regionally. The company will collaborate closely with PASA and other agencies to conduct the studies effectively.
Owain Jackson, CEO and Co-founder of H2Au Limited, commented:
“We believe that natural hydrogen if proven at commercial scale could accelerate hydrogen adoption in these regions of South Africa due to its lower hurdles for investment and production, and in doing so can reduce carbon emissions and offset the current energy production deficit. We are just beginning ourprojects in South Africa and we look forward to working with PASA, and other organisations such as the Council for Geoscience to make natural hydrogen a reality. The chronic need for clean power in this part of Africa is the impetus needed to explore for this new exciting commodity.
Background
The Contracts grant H2Au, as the holder, 100% exclusive rights to conduct technical studies, which will be aimed at exploring hydrogengas resources, for a period of 1 year. Prior to the end of this period H2Au has the exclusive right to convert all or part of each Contract area to an Exploration Right, subject to the approval of the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy of South Africa.
Over the course of the Contract period H2Au will conduct geological and geophysical studies utilising existing datasets and its in-house knowledge of the hydrogen plays in this region. The studies will focus on protolith geochemistry and quantitatively modelling hydrogen yield potential, protolith thermal history, host basin evolution and structure, suitable reservoir and seal pairs and trapping fairways. H2Au will co-operate closely with PASA and other agencies such as the Council for Geoscience to share its findings and to reduce the uncertainty for hydrogen resources in this region of South Africa.
H2Au has selected the Contract areas based on an extensive screening of the Kaapvaal craton conducted in conjunction with the NHSG earlier in 2024, where it identified a number of potential hydrogen plays associated with Archean Greenstone belts and Ultramafic igneous intrusives of the Bushveld Complex. These plays are supported by elevated hydrogen concentrations recorded during mine safety incidents, where free hydrogen gas comprised up to 80% of the flammable gas component. The project will aim to further delineate these plays and set out the appropriate work programme to be proposed inthe application for any subsequent Exploration Rights.
The Contract areas are situated in the Transvaal basin, where thick (>5km) Late Archean to Proterozoic sedimentary sequences overly Archean Greenstone belts, and are juxtaposed with the Bushveld Ultramafic intrusives (Rustenberg Suite) along key fault systems. Deep seated and long-lived structural features such as the Thabazimbi Murchinson Lineament provide potential fluid migration pathways and sites for trap formation as evidenced by localised folding at outcrop.
The provinces where the Contracts are located are some of the highest carbon emitting regions of South Africa and combined account for over 50% of its energy consumption, with industries such as mining, cement and steel providing a strong domestic market potential for clean power and hydrogen. In 2021 the Department of Science and Innovation of South Africa identified two hydrogen hubs in these regions with a potential demand of over 100ktons per year by 2030.
For more information, please contact:
Owain Jackson, CEO
M: +44 (0) 7500 013 589
About H2Au Limited
H2Au is a natural hydrogen exploration company headquartered in the UK. Utilising science-led, play-based models from the energy and mining industries, H2Au leverages meaningful geoscience data and predictive geological models to identify and develop hydrogen prospects.
H2Au’s mission is to commercialise hydrogen exploration & production by integrating innovative geoscience models with proven techniques to achieve a sustainable energy future. The company has worked with the Natural Hydrogen Study Group to conduct cutting-edge research into natural hydrogen systems. Since acquiring its first round of funding, the company has established a portfolio of valuable hydrogen exploration projects across the USA and Africa.
