A HISTORIC Memorandum of Cooperation between Japan and South Africa was signed in late September, recognising South Africa’s capacity and ability to be an internationally competitive producer of hydrogen and green ammonia.
The Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) was celebrated in Tokyo at a joint workshop on large-scale hydrogen projects. Japan committed to helping facilitate international development funding, research and private sector participation to achieve a sustainable and affordable hydrogen and ammonia supply chain in South Africa.
Colin Loubser, general manager of Hive Hydrogen SA presented the company’s Coega green ammonia project which is planned for commissioning in 2028. Hive Energy UK is playing the leading development role in phase 1 of South Africa’s US$5,8 billion green ammonia project in Coega, Nelson Mandela Bay. The plant will supply Japan, Korea, and Europe with over 900,000 tons a year, in the first of four phases.
Hive is confident that its green ammonia pricing for pre-2030 supply will be one of the lowest globally. The first Japanese investors have now started their due diligence to acquire a substantial stake in Hive’s Coega green ammonia project and secure an offtake supply.
The Hive giga-scale project will include 1,200 MW of electrolysers to extract hydrogen from water. The project is expected to benefit South Africa in many ways including creating over 20,000 jobs in an area with large unemployment and attracting new industrial investors.
Critically, in addition to its own 3,6 GW of solar and wind plants, it will enable up to 9 GW of Independent Power Producer renewable energy projects to access the grid, helping to alleviate loadshedding while decarbonising the grid. Most importantly, the Hive project is fully aligned with the Just Energy Transition, to which the country is committed.
Giles Redpath, Hive Energy CEO, commented: “Hive has been working on renewable developments in Southern Africa since 2015 and on Green Hydrogen since 2018. It is encouraging to see how the South African government has embraced the new green hydrogen industry. The opportunities this creates will enable our Coega green ammonia project to become a world-leading hub. When the production plant is commissioned in 2028, Green ammonia will be shipped from Nelson Mandela Bay to the Far East, and across the world. Our project will play a positive role in the partnership between South Africa and Japan as a source of renewable fuel supporting Japan’s world-leading decarbonisation plans to power hard-to-abate industries, including supplying Green Ammonia for coal substitution in power stations and for maritime fuel to replace heavy fuel oil and diesel.”
A global network
Hive is developing eight green hydrogen/ammonia projects globally. Once complete, the Hive projects will have the capacity to produce some 8,500,000 tons of hydrogen/ammonia each year to support the global drive to net-zero emissions by 2050.
Hive Energy, headquartered in the UK, is a 75% stakeholder of Hive Hydrogen SA and is the principal funder and co-developer of the project. Hive Energy was founded in 2010 by Giles Redpath to participate in the significant solar PV expansion across England. The company now operates in 22 countries globally with its largest projects in Spain. The Hive Energy Group is recognised internationally as a trusted partner in the development, construction, and operation of large-scale renewable energy projects.
Hive is known for its innovative approach and market-leading vision across the renewable energy, circular economy and green hydrogen industries. Hive has established some of the world’s leading solar projects, including the UK’s largest solar park, and is developing one of the world’s largest green ammonia plants in South Africa and the first green hydrogen/Ammonia hub in Spain.
In addition to its eight giga-scale green hydrogen/ammonia projects, Hive is currently developing over 28,000 MW of renewable energy projects. To date, Hive’s projects have generated over £1.9billion capital expenditure in green energy projects, saving 1,013,903 tonnes of CO2 each year.
BuiltAfrica has a 25% stake in Hive Hydrogen SA and is a co-developer. It is a renewable energy development company based in South Africa and was founded by Thulani Gcabashe in 2009 as an investment and development business focused on sectors that support sustainable development.
