Green hydrogen plant, South Africa

18th February 2022 By: Sheila Barradas - Creamer Media Research Coordinator & Senior Deputy Editor

Green hydrogen plant, South Africa

Name of the Project
Green hydrogen plant.

Location
Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Hive Hydrogen and Linde, through its wholly owned South African subsidiary Afrox.

Project Description
The project aims to establish a 780 000 t/y green ammonia plant, with its own dedicated power supply, at the Coega Special Economic Zone alongside the Port of Ngqura.

The plan is for a combined 2 200 MW of renewable solar and wind energy to electrolyse 3.4 Mℓ/d of seawater as part of a desalination and hydrogen extraction process.

The project will be powered by a 1 000 MW solar plant, located adjacent to the plant, coupled with a 56 MW battery storage component on site, and a 1 400 MW wind farm, which will be built further away.

Proton exchange membrane, or PEM, electrolysers, which generally use South Africa’s platinum and iridium metals, will separate the hydrogen from the oxygen

Nitrogen will be simultaneously extracted from the air using an air separation unit.

The hydrogen and nitrogen will then be combined through ammonia synthesis to produce green ammonia, which will be cooled, liquified and stored for export.

Once the ship arrives at the port, the liquid ammonia will be dispatched directly through a pipeline from the storage tanks and loaded on to the ship.

Potential Job Creation
The project will create thousands of jobs should it come to fruition.

Capital Expenditure
$4.64-billion.

Planned Start/End Date
The first phase is scheduled to go live in 2025, with full operation by the end of 2026.

Latest Developments
None stated.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Hive Energy, tel +44 1794 324 343 or email info@hiveenergy.co.uk.