Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and MEC Financial and Economic Opportunities Manager Mireille Wenger welcome the partnership announced Wednesday 19 October between Sasol and ArcelorMittal SA for fuel and chemical production sustainability, as well as green steel development, by supporting the establishment of a hydrogen system. (GH2) in Saldanha Bay.

“The Western Cape Government (WCG) welcomes the partnership between these two industry giants and further welcomes the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Sasol and SBIDZ that will bring energy capacity and opportunity interesting business for the province,” said the local official. said the government.

“This will go a long way in promoting the financial independence of the entity while further leveraging the significant infrastructure developments that have taken place in Freeport to date,” said Cayla Murray, MPP – Western Cape DA Spokesperson for Finance, Economic said Opportunity and Tourism.

Earlier this week, Sasol and ArcelorMittal launched a carbon capture scheme, “green steel”. During the launch, an additional memorandum of understanding was signed between Freeport Saldanha and Sasol to collaborate on the creation of a green hydrogen hub.

It is further revealed that the entity is conducting a feasibility study to place the project on its land, Murray said. “Sasol and ArcelorMittal South Africa will explore more about using and offsetting each other’s emissions, with the goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Two industrialists are studying how to use about 1.5 million tons of CO2 generated each year from work at Vanderbijlpark. This CO2 will then be transported to Sasolburg and Ekandustria to replace the use of natural gas, Murray said.

“The green economy is an exciting field with huge potential. It is important that we not only realize its potential but continue to utilize the resources we have while positioning our province as Africa’s green technology hub.

The instability of South Africa’s energy supply and the doubtful sustainability of an ageing fleet of power stations has created a perfect storm necessitating the move away from Eskom and coal-reliant power to securing alternative energy options, said Brent Townes, commercial property chief operating officer for Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in Cape Town.

He said organisations like Freeport Saldanha are paving the way to support investors to set up manufacturing facilities in energy transition technologies and further attract energy investments to the Western Cape region.

“It’s become imperative that consumers have alternative options which, albeit at a higher cost initially, assures them not only of a reliable energy supply but also a much-reduced carbon footprint.

“And, with building owners facing an Eskom application at NERSA for a 32% price escalation for 2022/23, alternative energy sources are likely become cost-efficient sooner rather than later – especially as the increase in the cost per kilowatt during the winter months will result in a double whammy as municipalities pass their inefficiencies on as well.”

He said that landlords can mitigate this risk by installing separate meters or even installing solar systems, but ultimately that in itself won’t halt the rapidly increasing cost spiral in the overall business environment

“At the end of the day, the government’s change of heart from their deep reluctance to move away from coal-fired power has almost come too late as the transition is a lengthy process.

“The planning cycle of any such project takes up to 24 months in consultation with all role players before the tender process can begin and then follows the design process, the construction phase, the commissioning phase and so on.”

He cited “the disastrous Medupi project” which was commissioned in 2007 and initially expected to take six years to complete, but Unit 1’s completion was then extended to 2017 and, to date, it’s already R11 billion over budget and far from finished and Kusile has a similar timeline.

“In addition to the fact that these plants will be fueled by coal from surrounding mines and thus deepen their carbon footprint, both still need to substantially correct the estimated design flaws. about 28 billion Rupiah.”

Margeaux Dawe, commerical property practitioner for the group said:

“What’s become patently clear is that, with bureaucracy further hampering efforts on government’s part to introduce new energy sources and technologies, assistance from outside sources is essential to getting alternative and cleaner energy up and running.

“And it’s been heartening to see that this has been forthcoming from a number of countries, including Germany, Japan, China and the US, all of whom are keen not only to invest, but also to share their knowledge and experience.”

Dawe noted that the timeline for these investors to secure land, erect solar and wind power generation systems and then commission them would be considerably shorter than if initiated by the local government.

“Their only potential hurdle would be establishing and securing connections to private consumers and the City of Cape Town – although they are far more proactive than Eskom.”

Freeport Saldanha is the first South African Freeport which is a special economic zone and customs-controlled area within a port dedicated to the Energy and Maritime sector, said Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty.

And, via the creation of the IDZ, Freeport Saldanha has been positioned as an energy hub through which to enable the energy transition as well as initiate the unlocking of the ocean economy.

Situated just 170km from Cape Town and 137km from Koeberg, Freeport Saldanha is a deep-water port with shipping lane capacity and a well-laid-out bonded development node with good road infrastructure, the realty group said.

“With the IDZ perfectly positioned to be leveraged for supply, they are now actively looking for alternative energy suppliers and for their supply chain in and around IDZ,” said Townes.

“Their incentive-backed, turnkey approach hopes to attract domestic and international investment and expertise in the field and we are delighted to be working with them to bring this project to life.” this importance come true.”

Dawe said the group has 356ha of open space for energy transition supply chains such as cleaner fuels, gas, green hydrogen and renewable energy and marine repair, manufacturing, logistics and services. related service.

Warehouse construction has been completed with a number of smaller units underway and many vacant lots are available for tenants who want to build specifically.

“The European Union is introducing a very important carbon border tax for South Africa to join, fully committed to transformation and ready to thrive if we hope to be competitive in the sector,” said Dawe. this area.