Water collecting in abandoned mines mixes with iron pyrite and oxygen to create sulphuric acid. This water is highly acidic, which allows it to absorb heavy metals. This is what we know as acid mine drainage, or AMD water. Flowing from abandoned mines, coal discard dumps, slurry dams, and waste rock dumps, AMD poses one of the most serious threats to our environment. The quality and availability of residential, industrial, and agricultural water supplies are all threatened. This is an urgent challenge.

AMD does not have to be a problem. The water can be treated to produce drinkable quality, and the polluting elements can be turned into useful products. However, finding a way to finance a solution that balances the rights and obligations of all the parties involved has proved extremely difficult.

Water is regarded as a human right in South Africa, secured by the constitution. Protecting this right means making affordable water available to everyone. While there are simple technical solutions available for cleaning AMD water, these incur significant costs. Combining the need for low-cost universal access to water with fully-funded solutions has complicated the implementation of treatment processes.

The government has yet to find a way to structure and finance its own comprehensive solution to the problem. And, despite the best efforts of the dozens of parties active in this area, from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to mining companies, none has had the combined scale, resources, and credibility to fully resolve the issue.

The first series-produced vehicles are bringing the concept of eMobility home to drivers, while underlying political conditions are quickly being established. Against this backdrop, the question for new entrants is: Which eMobility business model is the most profitable?

The eMobility ecosystem consists of four interactive segments—vehicles, infrastructure, providers, and regulations and subsidies—each contributing to the overall system and possessing its own opportunities and risks. The pivotal success factor is for all segments to have profitable business models and the right players. If even a single component is missing, development of the overall ecosystem will come to a standstill.