Energy

Carbon capture research could transform industry.

a year of industrial CO2 captured from the Vanderbijlpark Works to the Sasolburg and Ekandustria operating facilities in Sasolburg which will then, together with green hydrogen, eventually replace natural gas as a feedstock to produce sustainable chemicals products.

One way of cleaning up the energy landscape is to switch fuel sources from fossil fuels to renewables such as solar and wind. And the world is doing a lot of that.

Another way is to use renewable energy to clean up or repurpose the emissions coming from fossil fuels. That’s what Sasol and ArcelorMittal South Africa are looking into in Gauteng. Two of South Africa’s biggest and most successful companies are joining forces to try to convert captured carbon from ArcelorMittal South Africa’s Vanderbijlpark’s steel plant into sustainable fuels and chemicals using renewable energy. The carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) study supplements work being done by the Council for Geoscience in Mpumalanga.

Both industrial operators have a stated ambition to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Sasol is also working with the steel producer in the Western Cape on a green steel and green hydrogen and derivatives study.

“We are very excited to be leading the pre-feasibility and feasibility studies on these two potential projects that hold promise to unlock South Africa’s potential to be a global green hydrogen and derivatives player. These studies are anchored by the local need for green hydrogen and sustainable products, cementing Sasol as the leading contributor to the development of Southern Africa’s green hydrogen economy,” says Priscillah Mabelane, Executive Vice President for Sasol’s Energy Business.

The Vaal CCU study will explore transporting up to 1.5-million tons

The Vaal Triangle has been home to fossil fuel-based industrial operations that have been vital to the country’s economic development over many decades. It is believed that many of the assets in these operations can be repurposed in such a way as they become more sustainable, leading to a revitalisation of the region.

The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), as the driver of the state’s hydrogen economy and commercialisation programmes, came out strongly in support of the Sasol and ArcelorMittal partnership. “The IDC supports sector linkages like this that are critical to realising South Africa’s ambition to develop the green hydrogen economy,” said Joanne Bate, Chief Operating Officer for the IDC.

Sasol is simultaneously exploring export markets for the hydrogen and ammonia that it expects to produce in large quantities. With both products being an important of Japan’s Green Growth Strategy, it was logical that Sasol should look to that country. Sasol and ITOCHU Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly study and develop the market and supply chain for green ammonia with a focus on its possible use as bunkering fuel and for power generation. This could include product offtake agreements and Japanese support for academic and research efforts into green ammonia.

Change is coming

During the celebrations around the 50th anniversary of making vehicles at its Rosslyn Plant in Tshwane, BMW Group announced that from 2024 the BMW X3 will be made as a plug-in hybrid for export. This will entail an investment of R4.2-billion in adapting the factory to electrical specifications. More than 300 employees will receive specialised training at the plant, which was BMW’s firstever foreign facility. Since inception, Plant Rosslyn has produced more than 1.6-million vehicles and exported them to more than 40 countries worldwide, including 14 African nations. It has produced many models over the years and began working on the best-selling BMW X3 in 2018.

A new research chair has been created to study climate change. The Sappi Chair in Climate Change and Plantation Sustainability was launched by Sappi Southern Africa and the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in 2023.

Professor Mary Scholes of the Wits School of Animal, Plants and Environmental Science, an internationally recognised authority on tree physiology and climate change, will act as the Research Chair.

Developing additional capacity in manipulating and interpreting climate-modelling data will be a priority. Funding is available for one post-doctoral fellow and bursaries for one Master’s and one Honours student.

Online Resources

National Energy Regulator of South Africa: www.nersa.org.za

South African National Energy Development Institute: www.sanedi.org.za

South African Photovoltaic Industry Association: www.sapvia.co.za

In Johannesburg, the Northern Wastewater Treatment Works has its own electricity source in a 1.1MW biogas plant. It produces electricity using cogeneration, which is combined heat and power. A landfill site at Robinson Deep in Johannesburg has started generating 3MW of gas. This is the first of five renewable energy projects that Energy Systems SA has in Johannesburg. At the Cavalier abattoir in Cullinan, biowaste conversion company ibert provides about a quarter of the power that the abattoir needs to function.

Areas in the Gauteng province that can no longer rely on the mining industry to drive their economies may become focus zones for solar PV projects. Renewable Energy Development Zones (REDZs) have been allocated in other provinces but the potential for REDZs in Gauteng is huge, because vast amounts of energy are needed to drive the country’s biggest economy.

These zones would be developed in line with the national Integrated Resource Plan (IRP 2019) which the Gauteng Provincial Government is hoping will enable it to unlock several renewable energy projects.

The Gauteng Provincial Government has announced plans to appoint developers to construct an 800MW solar farm in Merafong. Government also intends installing rooftop solar panels on governments buildings such as schools, clinics and hospitals. ■

Oil and gas

A shortage of engineers is being addressed.

Sector Insight

and distributors, converts petrol and diesel-powered vehicles and advises companies on conversions.

World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development 2023 was an occasion to reflect that South Africa is short of qualified engineers to work in the oil and gas industries.

The day was 4 March, but happily there are programmes being run throughout the school year by organisations such as the Love Trust to bring Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) classes to areas with few resources. One such initiative is run at Nokuphila School in Thembisa, Midrand.

According to Matshoene Tladi, subject head of the STEM programme at the school, “We equip students with essential skills in the form of hands-on experiments and challenges that integrate principles and knowledge from natural science, technology, mathematics and robotics, which includes engineering and coding.” The Love Trust raises funds from sponsors for its STEM programme.

The regulator and promoter of oil and gas exploration in South Africa, Petroleum Agency South Africa, has awarded coalbed methane gas and natural gas rights in the provinces on Gauteng’s border, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.

Delta Natural Gas (DNG) Energy announced in 2019 the rollout of 400 natural gas refuelling sites across South Africa with a focus on the taxi and logistics sectors. The first sites will be Johannesburg and Tshwane. The Provincial Government of Gauteng has announced that it wants to take “decisive steps” to increase the availability and use of gas.

NGV Gas, a subsidiary of CNG Holdings, is promoting compressed natural gas (CNG) as a versatile alternative across all sectors. Another subsidiary, CNG Technology, supplies equipment for filling stations

Online Resources

Love Trust: www.lovetrust.co.za

National Energy Regulator of South Africa: www.nersa.org.za

South African Oil & Gas Alliance: www.saoga.org.za

South African Petroleum Industry Association: www.sapia.co.za

The major economic sectors using gas are the metals sector and the chemical, pulp and paper sector. Brick and glass manufacturers are also big consumers. National policy is driving a switch to the use of gas. A national Gas Utilisation Master Plan (GUMP) is being developed.

The country’s biggest supplier of industrial heating fluids, FFS Refiners, supplies this product out of a plant at Chloorkop while the company’s Evander site is responsible for heavy fuel oils. Evander also has a tank with installed capacity of 8 500m³.

Egoli Gas has a pipeline network that extends over 1 200km in and around Johannesburg and the company has 7 500 domestic, industrial and commercial customers. The company that owns Egoli Gas, Reatile, has a 30% stake in Vopak and a stake in CNG Holdings.

Ardagh Glass Packaging (formerly Consol) has contracted to buy liquid natural gas (LNG) from Renergen, which is developing a large project in the Free State. ■