Professors Sungjin Kang, Kyungnam Kim, and Yoonhee Ha of GETPPP visited the Republic of South Africa September 10–12 to deepen cooperation on clean-energy transition and hydrogen.​

On September 10 in Sandton, the '2025 IEEN Forum : Korea–South Africa Joint Seminar on Clean Energy Transition in the Power Sector' was successfully held. 

The seminar brought together Korea’s KSP Team and KOTRA, and about 40 South African energy experts, including Wesgro, the Transnet National Ports Authority(TNPA), and the Western Cape Provincial Government. The GETPPP faculty led the seminar, creating a forum to share policy experience and industry trends for the clean-energy transition.

From the South African side, Sampson Mamphweli, Director at SANEDI and two other speakers delivered presentations. And They emphasized the need—premised on a <i>'J</i><i>ust Transition'</i>—to mitigate shocks in coal-dependent regions while expanding renewables, and presented plans to advance a hydrogen economy based on policy stability and large-scale investment(about ZAR 200 billion). They also outlined measures to secure water–energy security linkages, build infrastructure such as ports and pipelines, and improve the economics of CO₂-to-fuel conversion (including SOEC, hydrogen storage, and waste-tire gasification) to achieve industrial decarbonization, job creation, and export competitiveness.

From the Korean side, KOMIPO, K-water, KHNP, and KOEN presented ongoing renewable-energy cases in Korea. Topics covered included the status of <i>Clean Hydrogen·Ammonia Business​</i><i>,</i> Renewable Energy and Green Hydrogen Projects​, <i>the</i><i> Pohang Energy Park Power Generation Facilities</i>​, and '<i>N</i><i>et-zero' roadmaps</i>. 

By airing South Africa’s policy challenges and sharing Korea’s strategies, the seminar helped strengthen the foundation for Korea–South Africa cooperation on clean-energy transition. Participants agreed to continue exchanges and collaboration to jointly pursue power-sector decarbonization and climate-crisis response.

On September 11, the delegation visited the Saldanha Bay Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the Atlantis Industrial Park, directly reviewing South Africa’s hydrogen and renewable-energy industrial base. 

Dr. Rebecca Mu of the University of the Western Cape noted that Cape Town is a hub of innovation, expressing appreciation to Korean researchers and a commitment to co-creating a vision through joint research and investment with Korea. 

Acting Deputy Director-General Ilse van Schalkwyk(Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism) stated that the province aims to build a ZAR 1-trillion economy by 2025, positioning green hydrogen as a core driver for investment attraction, export expansion, and stressed that cooperation with Asia—especially Korea—is strategically important.

On September 12 at Wesgro headquarters, discussions focused on hydrogen-industry development strategies and port infrastructure. Motlhabane Koloi, an energy and green-economy specialist at Wesgro, highlighted Western Cape’s abundant solar and wind resources enabling large-scale, low-cost hydrogen production and underscored manufacturing and export partnerships with Korea, presenting the 'Green Hydrogen 300 Strategy'.

During the visit, we formalized exchange channels, identified cooperation tasks and a pipeline of candidate projects. And we put in place working-level networks and a follow-up roadmap, forming the execution base for Korea–South Africa collaboration on clean energy and hydrogen.​