Omnia Group of South Africa and WKN Windcurrent, a subsidiary of German renewables giant PNE, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to access onsite production of green hydrogen and ammonia in South Africa.
The agreement calls for a production of 100,000 tonne of green ammonia per year, with the plant powered by renewable energy from hybrid sources.
PNE's subsidiary will develop the necessary equipment to combine ammonia production with wind and solar energy generation. The plant aims to produce competitively priced green ammonia, which could prevent 180,000 tons of CO2 emissions per annum.
The recent collaboration between Omnia Group and PNE will assist South Africa in meeting its decarbonization targets by lowering the country's dependency on imports and restricted rail logistics. The expansion of the green hydrogen value chain will help the government's ambition to create a green hydrogen economy.
According to Markus Lesser, CEO of PNE, green hydrogen and its downstream products are critical to aiding South Africa's energy transformation while unlocking sustainable business potential. The latest agreement is a major milestone in the implementation of PNE's 2.0 strategy, in which solutions related to Power-to-X play a significant role.
Last month, Omnia launched a 5 MW solar power facility in the Free State industrial city of Sasolburg. These types of projects would minimize its reliance on the fragile national grid, which is primarily powered by coal, the company said.
Omnia's CEO, Seelan Gobalswamy, stated that the company strives to be innovative and use green technologies. The onsite production of green ammonia will greatly lower the environmental footprint and support the country's transition to green energy.
South Africa is utilizing its abundant natural resources to generate renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions. To accelerate the country's transition to enhanced renewable energy sources, the government has mobilized over $8.5 billion in funding through its Just Energy Transition Program, in collaboration with Germany and other nations.