South Africa’s Omnia Group Pty Ltd., Johannesburg, and WKN Windcurrent SA Pty, Cape Town, a unit of Germany’s PNE AG, Cuxhaven, on Feb. 1 announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to evaluate the onsite production of green hydrogen and ammonia in South Africa.
The objective is to produce competitively priced green ammonia in the range of up to 100,000 mt/y, which would result in a saving of 180,000 mt/y per annum of CO2 emissions. This production will be powered by renewable energy from hybrid sources. The PNE subsidiary is to develop the necessary equipment to combine energy generation from wind and solar with the production of the ammonia.
“As a diversified chemicals group that supplies chemicals and specialized solutions for the agriculture and mining industries, we are continually looking for ways to add value to our customers throughout our supply chain,” said Seelan Gobalsamy, Omnia CEO. “Being innovative and using green technology is at the heart of our approach. The fact is that onsite production of green ammonia will significantly reduce our CO2 emissions, embed sustainability into our products, and support the country’s green energy journey.”
In the meantime, Omnia announced on Jan. 30 that it has launched Phase 1 of its 5-Megawatt (MW) Sasolburg Solar Plant. At the same time, the company broke ground on Phase 2. Both phases of the solar project aim to augment the electricity supply at the Sasolburg plant and reduce the group’s dependency on coal-fired power sources and the national grid.
Omnia expects to generate close to 10 500 MWh a year from phase 1, saving at least R12 million per annum in energy costs. Together with Omnia’s ability to produce electricity from excess process steam from their nitric acid plants (co-generation), this will supplement between 25%-35% of the group’s electricity requirements at the Sasolburg operations.
Omnia said the management, procurement, and engineering of both Phase 1 and 2 projects have been carried out in-house. Some 90 externally contracted staff managed the installation process over a seven-month period for Phase 1 development, with a similar outlook expected for Phase 2.