A modest proof-of-concept green hydrogen facility in Vredendal, Western Cape, has begun production, and its developers are now seeking funding for a 5 MW commercial project that they believe might serve as the catalyst for the province’s first ‘hydrogen valley.’
The commercial plant would consist of a 10 MW photovoltaic facility and a 5 MW hydrogen facility and is expected to cost between R460 million and R460 million, depending on the cost of the electrolyser units.
George van Rensburg, managing director of Keren Energy, announced this week that the proof-of-concept facility, which was created in collaboration with Sakhumnotho Power, a subsidiary of Sakhumnotho Group Holdings, began producing green hydrogen on February 21.
The plant is South Africa’s first producer of the carbon-free energy transporter, to the best of Keren Energy’s knowledge.
The plant, which has produced three kilograms to date, splits water into hydrogen and oxygen using an electrolyser using power generated by a 100-kW solar photovoltaic generator.
Van Rensburg stated during a webinar hosted by the Saldanha Bay Innovation Campus that the plant was developed under the auspices of the government’s HySA research and development programme, as well as with the assistance of the University of Cape Town, the University of the North West, and the University of the Western Cape.
Cape Stack, a manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cell components, and Namaqua Engineering collaborated with Keren on the design and construction of the facility.
The commercial project, which will be placed approximately 20 kilometers from the proof-of-concept facility, is now seeking funding.
Keren Energy claims that all necessary permissions and environmental approvals have been obtained and that the company is on track to accomplish financial close by the end of June, allowing the facility to begin operations in March 2023.
“We have excellent solar resources and a plenty of water in the area, which eliminates the need for desalination,” Van Rensburg explained.
Numerous boreholes are located on the land, one of which already generates more than enough water to support hydrogen synthesis.
“At peak production, water consumption will be 11 200 litres per day, and we anticipate 300 working days, which corresponds to 3 360 000 gallons per year,” Keren Energy responded to questions from Engineering News.
When asked if such a project could be justified in light of the region’s water constraint, the corporation responded, “Yes, we will be using very little water from an established well.”
Keren Energy is now projecting a cost of production of approximately R70/kg hydrogen, which includes the sale of the oxygen produced during the process.
Additionally, it is trying to acquire grant funding for the initiative.
Additionally, land near Saldanha Bay has been secured for a 400 MW green hydrogen project, and Van Rensburg reports that approximately 70% of the necessary licenses have already been obtained. Again, there are abundant water resources in the area, and hence desalination is not contemplated.
There were no cost estimates or dates stated for this much larger project, which Van Rensburg asserted might serve as the “start of a hydrogen valley in the Western Cape.”
He stated that the decision to build near the deep-water port in Saldanha Bay was a “critical piece of the puzzle,” since the location allowed for both local and export offtake.
Saldanha Bay, along with Coega in the Eastern Cape and Boegoebaai in the Northern Cape, has been identified as prospective green hydrogen export centers, according to Council for Scientific and Industrial Research senior research engineer Thomas Roos.
Roos stated that the potential to consolidate multiple hydrogen-consuming enterprises in a single zone created the possibility for a hydrogen valley in Saldanha Bay similar to the one envisioned from Anglo American Platinum’s Mogalakwena mine in Limpopo via Pretoria and Johannesburg to Durban.
Apart from the export potential to hydrogen-hungry European markets, there was also a chance to deliver green hydrogen to Saldanha for use as a marine bunker fuel and an input in the production of green steel at the Saldanha Steel factory, which is currently mothballed.
