Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA)

14 4.5 4.75 4.75 4 3.75 4.25 4.5 5 4.5 6.5 2.5 2.75 2.5 2.75 2.25 2.25 2.25 3.25 2.75 4 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Argentina Australia Brazil Canada Chile China France Germany India Japan 2020 Estimate cost by 2030 Production costs of green hydrogen of selected 10 countries (in euros per/kg) Data Source: Statista Storage of Hydrogen Another challenge to realizing a hydrogen-based economy in the future will be the necessity for large-scale hydrogen storage solutions. Large- scale, inexpensive solutions like salt caverns are largely unavailable, and adopting alternate liquid storage methods frequently comes with a higher price tag than initially creating hydrogen. Explosiveness of Hydrogen One significant concern is the explosive nature of hydrogen gas. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) notes that: “Hydrogen used in fuel cells is a very flammable gas and can cause fires and explosions if it is not handled properly”. This is worrying enough above ground, but in the tightly enclosed space of a mine, it represents an enormous risk. Unlike natural gas, there are currently no known odorants that can be added to hydrogen to effectively alert people to a leak in time to prevent a potential disaster. Hydrogen burns invisibly, making any leaks more lethal. Improvements in hydrogen detection will be necessary to bring it to safe use standards underground. For this, we need to look to the stars; or at least, NASA. Incentives for usage of Hydrogen in Mining Without a solid and convincing business case on why hydrogen should be implemented, and the knowledge and impetus to consider a change, operators may have serious reservations about changing their working approach. At ground level, and particularly for the more junior operations, implementing hydrogen FCEVs and hydrogen power generation and storage would likely interrupt daily operations and require significant initial investment that might not yield the desired returns in the short term. Sustainable Financing Sustainability-linked loans allow a borrower to reduce its interest rates over time after achieving various environmental milestones. With mine projects under increasing pressure from equity investors and debt providers to meet robust environmental, social and governance standards, hydrogen could have a role to play in complying with these standards. Interventions aimed at encouraging industries to dedicate the necessary capital for green processes during these prolonged investment periods can be implemented through the following measures: • Reducing the cost of capital; Encourage industrial players to invest in new plants by offering incentives that reduce the perceived cost of the investment.This may involve