HIVE Hydrogen reaffirmed its earlier announcement of the planned R105 billion green ammonia plant in the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) during the Nelson Mandela Bay manufacturing showcase held in the Bay on 6 and 7 June.
The project, which is one of the largest ever inward investments into South Africa, aims to establish one of the world’s largest green ammonia plants, producing more than 1,000,000 tons per year for export to the Far East and Europe when the first phase comes online in 2029. The plant will have its own dedicated renewable energy power supply of 3,700 MW generated by wind and solar energy – representing the largest clusters of PV farms and wind assets under single ownership in Africa.
This investment presents Nelson Mandela Bay with a major opportunity for green industrial development and diversification through downstream opportunities. The spin-offs in job creation, renewable energy generation and desalinated water to be fed into the local grid, and up- and down-stream economic opportunities, are substantial.
Regarding the site in the Coega SEZ, Thulani Gcabashe, chairman of Hive Hydrogen says: “It is a rare site as it is operating in a deep-water harbour with large liquid bulk berth capacity, liquid bulk storage and shipping capability, large-scale on-site power generation capacity, unlimited water availability, large capacity grid connections for power wheeling, and defined and permitted servitudes, as well as semi-skilled and skilled local contractors and labour resources.
“We also have local land secured close to the plant for the establishment of an additional solar farm with a capacity of up to 600 MW. Once complete, the solar farm will be one of the largest PV parks in South Africa. Our goal is to pave the way for environmental best practice in South Africa with this development.”
This investment aims to create about 20,000 direct and indirect jobs in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Meeting milestones
Last month, in May 2024, the Coega Green Ammonia project successfully achieved an Environmental Impact Assessment Records of Decision. The next stage of the grid connection workstream for its R14 billion, 1,230 MW Crossroads Green Energy cluster commenced. This cluster is a group of nine solar PV projects situated in the Northern Cape’s very high solar yield De Aar area.
In April 2024, a delegation from Hive Hydrogen travelled to Japan to complete a market and subsidies review for offtake in Japan and Korea.
In March 2024, Hive Hydrogen completed a Pre-FEED (Front End Engineering Design) for the Hydrogen Electrolyser, which is the largest component of the plant.
In February 2024, the company signed an agreement to implement two wind power generation projects in the Western Cape, totalling 372 MW of wind energy to support its Coega green ammonia plant.
In January 2024, Hive Hydrogen completed the Feasibility Study for the Ammonia Loop.
In December 2023, Hive Hydrogen SA and Itochu Corp of Japan signed a Memorandum of Cooperation at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, agreeing to cooperate on advancing the Coega green ammonia project; engage on mutual interests including Itochu’s potential involvement as a strategic equity investor and as an offtaker of green ammonia and green hydrogen production.
