This audio is brought to you by Wearcheck, your condition monitoring specialist.There's no climate solution without hydrogen. It's the missing piece of the clean energy puzzle, says a global CEO-led initiative that brings together leading companies with a united vision.From 13 leaders at its World Economic Forum launch in 2017, the Hydrogen Council has ballooned to 150 multinationals companies representing the entire value chain of hydrogen, which is planet earth's most abundant element, as well as being renewable and non-polluting."We need to embrace hydrogen as a global energy solution now more than ever," it is being stated by the council, amid hydrogen development taking place left, right and centre across Asia, Europe, the Americas and to a lesser but moderately advancing extent in Africa."The energy transition is happening faster than many people (including me!) dared hope," Microsoft luminary Bill Gates stated in an article after visiting a Texas company in which the platinum- and South Africa-linked AP Ventures is invested.Meanwhile, Forbes magazine's contributor on energy and climate Ken Silverstein comments that it is just a matter of green hydrogen getting its legs for it to become the 'new oil' - to replace the energy source that currently drives the global economy.As a result, countries are forming international hydrogen coalitions to position themselves for that future and many are looking to hydrogen giving them energy independence and sovereignty.What must be noted is that the proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers that produce green hydrogen most efficiently benefit from the very special attributes of Southern Africa's platinum group metals, as do the PEM fuel cells that turn that green hydrogen into the cleanest of clean electricity that can not only power buses, bikes, bakkies, cars, cargo carriers and ships better than anything else can but can also provide clean, green electricity in stationary form to, you name it - homes, commercial buildings, factories, farms, and industry as a whole.Forbes reports that the United Arab Emirates, which is targeting a 25% global market share of low-carbon hydrogen by 2030, is joining forces with Germany to expand its portfolio, while Japan is converting fossil-fired plants into hydrogen-based plants and South Korea is setting aside tens of billions of dollars to expand its hydrogen infrastructure and build a fuel cell base.The European Union is fast-tracking 65 hydrogen projects after signing an energy infrastructure list into law, Hydrogen Insight reports.Australian company Fortescue has opened an electrolyser manufacturing facility in Gladstone, Queensland, that has an automated assembly line, the World Platinum Investment Council reports.Fortescue has also unveiled a joint venture with Morocco-headquartered plant nutrition and phosphate-based fertiliser supplier OCP Group, which aims to supply green hydrogen, ammonia and fertilisers to Morocco, Europe and international markets.In the UK, a platinum-using PEM fuel cell for cars, the smallest to date, has been developed by Intelligent Energy.Hydrogen South Africa at North-West University embarked on building dedicated rapid prototyping, testing and training facilities for water electrolysis that generates green hydrogen. The 15 000 m2 advanced manufacturing facility, constructed and fully commissioned in just over two years, will have capacity to produce over 2 GW of PEM electrolyser stacks a year.The Japanese government has revealed a multitrillion-yen plan to develop a regional aircraft powered by next generation technology such as hydrogen.Newsbreaks on the outlook for the hydrogen economy are regular and the momentum towards making green hydrogen competitive and developing human resources to meet the needs of green hydrogen is building strongly.Twelve scientists from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries will head to Germany in May, where they will have an opportunity to obt...