Development of a solar fuels roadmap for South Africa

South Africa is heavily reliant on fossil fuels for energy. Fortunately it has an excellent solar resource which, through solar fuels or high temperature solar applications offers the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, to increase energy security and to optimize fossil fuel resource use. Solar fuels can be defined as solar derived thermochemical processes and can include energy carriers (hydrogen, synthesis gas and liquid fuels), chemical or material commodities (metals, lime, and cement) or thermochemical storage. South Africa is developing a "Roadmap to Solar Fuels" under the guidance of local and SolarPACES experts. This papers aims to provide an overview of the drivers and the process of developing a "Roadmap to Solar Fuels" for South Africa. It will also provide feedback on workshops and interactions with industry and government role players and will provide an overview of the specific solar fuels opportunities that exists for South Africa that can be explored further. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.