Swedish cleantech company Ripasso Energy will form a subsidiary, Ripasso South Africa Ltd, and open a sales and service office in Johannesburg. The recent interest from the metal and mining industries in South Africa may prove to be the company’s major breakthrough.

The sales and service office will be located in Johannesburg, South Africa, and is set to open in May. The decision is based on the surge of interest from the South African ferrochrome industry that has come on the back of the Swedish cleantech company’s latest product, the PWR BLOK 400-F. The product facilitates the harnessing of energy from flare and industrial residual gas combustion at a record-low price. Owing to the PWR BLOK, metal processing companies – both energy intense and abundant with residual gases – can reduce the volume of electricity purchased from the grid by up to 15%. The market potential of the ferrochrome industry in South Africa is estimated at EUR 300m.

The head of Ripasso South Africa will be David de Mattos. David most recently held the position of Sales Manager at Clarke Energy and has extensive experience of working with gas powered engines, as well as of projects within the metal and mining industries.

Roelof Retief will also be involved with the office. Roelof has over 27 years of experience from the ferrochrome industry, and since 2017 has been Ripasso Energy’s representative in South Africa. He played a key role in securing Ripasso Energy’s first commercial order in South Africa, just months after the launch of the PWR BLOK product. The sales agreement was signed in late December 2017 with the customer Afarak Mogale.

In the coming months, Ripasso South Africa will also be hiring personnel in operations and maintenance.

- I am extremely happy that we have been able to recruit and involve people with such extensive experience of the industry at our South African office. Establishing an organisation in South Africa is our obvious next step, given the major interest in the PWR BLOK 400-F that the market has shown. We are already in discussions with around 80% of the major ferrochrome producers, and are constantly receiving inquiries regarding similar gases, says Gunnar Larsson, CEO of Ripasso Energy.