Eastern Cape Business 2023-24
The 2023/24 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 16th edition of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) is supporting this issue of the journal, both in providing up-to-date information for editorial use and in sharing information about its activities. It will also distribute the journal through its regular channels. The Eastern Cape’s multi-faceted approach to the challenges and opportunities of sustainability are explored in a special feature. From caring for agricultural land through partnerships between farmers, wool brokers and fashion houses, to solar panels and improved lighting and water systems, companies are finding ways to incorporate sensible and profitable solutions into their business models. The Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency celebrates a significant milestone this year, it being 20 years since it began operations.
The 2023/24 edition of Eastern Cape Business is the 16th edition of this successful publication that, since its launch in 2006, has established itself as the premier business and investment guide for the Eastern Cape. The Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) is supporting this issue
of the journal, both in providing up-to-date information for editorial use and in sharing information about its activities. It will also distribute the journal through its regular channels.
The Eastern Cape’s multi-faceted approach to the challenges and opportunities of sustainability are explored in a special feature. From caring for agricultural land through partnerships between farmers, wool brokers and fashion houses, to solar panels and improved lighting and water systems, companies are finding ways to incorporate sensible and profitable solutions into their business models. The Nelson Mandela Bay Development Agency celebrates a significant milestone this year, it being 20 years since it began operations.
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
A REGIONAL OVERVIEW OF<br />
EASTERN CAPE<br />
PROVINCE<br />
Green ammonia, green hydrogen and battery storage are among<br />
the new sectors showing promise in the regional economy, along<br />
with the Oceans Economy.<br />
By John Young<br />
Everything about energy is trending in<br />
South Africa at the moment. The <strong>Eastern</strong><br />
<strong>Cape</strong> has attracted a large percentage<br />
of the new investments made into wind<br />
farms in the years since the nation decided to<br />
encourage private investment in the power sector,<br />
but it is battery storage, green hydrogen and<br />
ammonia that are stirring interest – and attracting<br />
investment rands – most recently.<br />
In East London, Bushveld Minerals has built<br />
a factory to make vanadium battery electrolyte.<br />
At the Coega Special Economic Zone (Coega<br />
SEZ) an amount of $4.6-billion has been pledged<br />
by a consortium led by Hive Energy to produce<br />
green ammonia and another group of companies,<br />
including ENERTRAG South Africa, is looking into<br />
the potential of a site near Humansdorp to produce<br />
green hydrogen. The German parent of ENERTRAG<br />
has a lot of experience in hybrid wind to hydrogen<br />
power plants and is working with Sasol on aviation<br />
fuel alternatives.<br />
Green ammonia and green hydrogen are both<br />
produced by electrolysis and the green element<br />
is supplied by that process being powered by<br />
clean or renewable energy. The difference is that<br />
green ammonia is a liquid while green hydrogen<br />
is a gas.<br />
Various kinds of propulsion are obviously very<br />
important to the province’s big original equipment<br />
manufacturers (OEMs) such as Volkswagen South<br />
Africa, Mercedes-Benz South Africa, Ford Motor<br />
Company and Isuzu. These OEMs are keen to get<br />
certainly on what South Africa’s policy on electric<br />
vehicles is going to be. All of them have recently<br />
made large capital investments in new lines or<br />
expanded capacity.<br />
EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS <strong>2023</strong>/<strong>24</strong><br />
8
Change language