Sasol launches two green hydrogen initiatives

Sasol has announced two green hydrogen initiatives, as the synthetic fuels and chemical giant urgently charts its course for a low carbon future.

Sasol said on Wednesday it would work alongside a consortium of world-class partners to explore the feasibility of sustainable aviation fuel production at its Secunda Synfuels plant with a view to bid in concept for the production of fuel under the auspices of the German federal government’s H2Global auction platform.  

Sustainable aviation fuel, which requires green hydrogen as an input, is key to decarbonising the aviation sector, which faces many challenges in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis, powered by renewable energy, to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The process produces no CO_² and is widely thought to be the key to decarbonise industries at a rate that renewable power alone cannot achieve.

“The project would leverage Sasol’s existing facilities, deep technical know-how in the Fischer-Tropsch process and downstream processing capabilities,” Sasol said in a statement.

Germany’s H2Global initiative for green hydrogen imports will enable green hydrogen projects to be established in designated countries, such as SA.

The LEN consortium, which Sasol will work alongside, comprises Linde, Enertrag and Navitas Holdings.

Separately, Sasol also announced it has partnered Toyota SA Motors to jointly pursue the development of a proof-of-concept demonstration for a “green hydrogen mobility ecosystem”.

The parties intend to develop a mobility corridor and expand the demonstration to a pilot project using one of SA’s main freight corridors, such as the N3 route between Durban and Johannesburg, for hydrogen powered heavy-duty, long-haul trucks.

The announcements were made a day after Sasol and Air Liquide launched a tender process for a sizeable 900MW of renewable energy to be supplied to Sasol’s SA operations. — BusinessLIVE