Name of the Project
Sasolburg green hydrogen project.

Location
Sasolburg, in the Free State, in South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Sasol.

Project Description
The project is regarded as a modest precursor to a much larger green-hydrogen initiative by Sasol and entails the repurposing of an operational 60 MW electrolyser at the Sasolburg operation to produce green hydrogen. Green hydrogen is produced from renewable energy and water electrolysis.

The project is expected to produce up to 5 t/d green hydrogen and, potentially, green ammonia.

The plant will require an estimated 69 MW of additional renewable energy to provide electricity for the plant, which will be provided by the Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm, in the Eastern Cape. The contract will be treated as an embedded generation plant.

Sasol is also leading the prefeasibility study for green hydrogen developments at Boegoebaai, in the Northern Cape.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
R350-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project is likely to be operational within 18 to 24 months.

Latest Developments
Sasol has reported that it produced its first green hydrogen in Sasolburg in June 2023, during the commissioning phase of a project to repurpose an operational electrolyser to use renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The first green hydrogen was produced using electricity from a 3 MW solar photovoltaic facility built in Sasolburg.

Consistent production is expected only in early 2024 once the Msenge Emoyeni Wind Farm starts supplying the facility.

“Once operational, the Msenge wind farm together with the Sasolburg solar farm will provide sufficient renewable power to commercialise green hydrogen in South Africa.

“This is a huge step forward in the energy transition, not just for Sasol but also for South Africa,” Sasol CEO Fleetwood Grobler said during a presentation of the group’s 2023 results in August 2023.

The green hydrogen produced in Sasolburg will be used in mobility applications and Grobler told Engineering News in an interview that formal partnership announcements will be made in late 2023.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact details for project information
Sasol senior manager: group media relations and external communication Alex Anderson, tel +27 71 600 9605 or email alex.anderson@sasol.com.