South African chemicals and energy company Sasol has signed an agreement with Chinese green technology and renewable-energy company Envision to undertake the engineering design for an e-methanol project at the Sasolburg operation, in South Africa's Free State province.  

The signing took place during a visit to Envision’s Net Zero Industrial Park, in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, on August 5. The visit was a side event to the South Africa-China Electricity & Energy Investment Conference, being held in Beijing, China, this week.

Envision has been commissioned to design a green hydrogen system for Sasol’s Sasolburg operations. The system will integrate renewable energy, battery storage and electrolyser technologies to produce cost-efficient green hydrogen, with the potential to fuel e-methanol production and, in the future, sustainable aviation fuel (eSAF).

Speaking at the signing, industrial and economic policy specialist Jak Koseff explained that Sasol was on a journey to redevelop its brownfield sites for new industrial frontiers and turn them into low-carbon production centres, aligned to what Envision was undertaking at Chifeng. Koseff is part of the team that is furthering this ambition at Sasol.

Envision’s industrial park coordinates wind, solar and energy storage resources to achieve a 100% green power supply, supporting the growth of battery energy storage and other green manufacturing industries.

Envision would assist Sasol with understanding how to turn part of Sasolburg into a green methanol and eSAF plant to serve the European market, Koseff explained.

He pointed out that a thorough search of technical providers was undertaken, with Envision selected as the preferred contractor as Sasol perceived  the company to be as a “world leader” in the systems required.

The project was currently at the design phase, which was expected to be finalised in about October, Koseff told Engineering News on the sidelines of the signing.

He also mentioned that investment in green hydrogen was a long-term strategy, with this expected to play a role in the industrial future.

“The level of investment in renewable energy is going to determine our ability to participate in the hydrogen market. But, in the meantime, there are certain products where you can attract a premium because the markets that are taking them have mandate behind them,” Koseff explained.

He cited the EU as an important market for Sasol in this regard, as deliberate policy around certain chemicals and resources such as eSAF allowed the company to sell products at premium prices.

South Africa's Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa welcomed the signing, noting that it “reaffirms Sasol’s unassailable position as the leading private player in the energy complex in the country”. He added that the company was beginning to "pivot towards cleaner technology solutions”.

Moreover, he highlighted the public sector participation in the project, with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) as an investor, and the entity’s CEO also present at the signing.

“That’s a significant opportunity for us to communicate to the rest of the country that we have two big giants – Sasol and the IDC – that are able to propel the country forward,” Ramokgopa acclaimed.

“The message to the country is that when we travel, we bring the results,” he added.

*Tasneem Bulbulia is attending the South Africa-China Electricity & Energy Investment Conference as a guest of South Africa's Department of Electricity and Energy.