Eastern Cape Business 2023-24

OVERVIEW
Renewable energy
Green liquids and gases and battery storage are generating interest.
With the Eastern Cape firmly established as the leading SECTOR INSIGHT
wind power province, other innovative and important
Aspen is going off grid.
subsectors are making high their grade reserves presence of vanadium felt in the in the Bushveld Energy
world in the Bushveld Complex.
VRFB
energy landscape.
The decision by Bushveld Energy Bushveld to start producing divisions align vanadium with
market demand forecasts
battery electrolyte at its new facility in East London is an important
In response to these assumptions and
marker for that sector. The company intends findings, it is eventually Bushveld Minerals' assembling
intention
to vertically grow the vanadium company
battery systems locally.
through the supply of vanadium electrolyte
by for Hive VRFBs Hydrogen for the energy storage SA as the
The Coega SEZ has been chosen
sector in the medium-term and establish
location of a green ammonia project which will be fully operational
a regionally-oriented assembly and
by 2026. The project investment amount manufacturing is approximately capacity in the $4.6-billion,
long-term:
creating a global VRFB supply chain in
principally focussed on the construction of green ammonia plant.
South Africa with the added benefit of
The main development partners are Built creating Africa a captive and market Hive for Energy Bushveld of the
Minerals’ vanadium production.
UK who have formed Hive Hydrogen SA but various other partners are
Bushveld Energy was accordingly
involved. Local salt manufacturer Cerebos established will supply in 2016 to desalinated capture a share water Bushveld Minerals makes vanadium
to the project. Solar and wind projects
of
producing
this attractive market
4 000MW
and is
will need DID YOU redox flow batteries (VRFB).
exclusively focused on developing KNOW?
to be built to supply the project with renewable and promoting energy. the role of vanadium
the in oxygen the growing by global an energy electrolyser, scale, long duration Aspen off-grid – as Pharmacare well as will
VRFBs are ideally
suited for large-
The ammonia will be separated from
storage market through the
energy storage minigrid – markets.
applications
and hydrogen and nitrogen will be combined development to of form VRFB green technology. ammonia take its Demand operations is expected to off grid by
which will be stored in liquid form at a tank In doing at the so, Bushveld Port of Energy Ngqura, is from 2024 peak by between purchasing 2025 and power
bringing the energy storage value chain
2030.
where it can be exported around the world. to South It Africa can as be a means used of leveraging in fertiliser The study from also companies found that global electrolyte
demand electricity is likely to peak from during the waste plastic.
that generate
and explosives.
South Africa-mined and beneficiated
vanadium. Bushveld Minerals will actively same timeframe and that Bushveld
Gas company Afrox is another partner,
support the
although
beneficiation of minerals
there is no
Minerals
The
would
Aspen
be able to
factory
compete cost
on the edge
intention currently to convert the oxygen mined in to South pharmaceutical-grade
Africa into higher valueadded
final products.
market Africa but other regions, as well.
effectively of for North not just the End electrolyte Lake is one of the
product as that market is currently well served.
Moreover,
province’s
the study found
biggest
that South
manufacturing
Another renewable energy investor Bringing the Coega the energy SEZ storage is Seraphim Africa serves concerns as the logical and base currently for VRFB gets 8%
value chain to South Africa manufacturing. With the IDC as a partner,
Solar Cell Manufacturing that is investing R362-million to increase the of its electricity from solar roof
To realise the potential of VRFBs in energy Bushveld Minerals will benefit from the
local content of its solar value chain. storage, Bushveld Energy’s first job was IDC’s important installations. stakeholder linkages A process with called
to undertake a market study to identify the South African government, regulators,
At the East London Industrial Development Zone (ELIDZ), several pyrolysis will convert plastic waste
VRFB demand in Africa, as well as global utilities and other key players that are
new renewable energy investors have signed vanadium up electrolyte in recent demand. months. In partnership
with the Industrial Development for the energy storage industry – as they
necessary into provide a synthetic a catalytic fuel. stimulus
The first environmental authorisations, which cover Mossel Bay and Humansdorp could become
Corporation (IDC) of South Africa, the have for the renewable industry to date.
Coega, have been gazetted and are the parties first steps undertook towards a study in the second building This study the subsequently site of a prompted plant that produces
half of 2016. This concluded in August Bushveld Energy’s first project: the
of a 400km gas pipeline from the Mossel Bay to a planned 1000MW gas e-methanol from green hydrogen
2017 that favourable demand exists for deployment of a utility-scale VRFB, a project
that and was co-developed gas created by Bushveld from locally-
grows.
power station at Coega.
VRFBs, particularly in the utility (including
transmission and distribution networks) Energy and the IDC with the system manusourced
biomass. Three companies
have signed an agreement to do a
ONLINE RESOURCES
A CENTURY OF INNOVATION
feasibility
TAKRAF Standardized
study: ENERTRAG
Primary and Secondary
South
Sizers are designed
Hydrogen South Africa: www.hysasystems.com
Africa,
for comminution
Earth & Wire
of different
and
material
24Solutions.
types. They offer ease of
maintenance, reduced downtime and long equipment service life
Independent Power Producer Projects: www.ipp-projects.co.za
The ■abundant Easy, quick and safe changing wind of crushing and segments solar
■ Use of advanced wear resistant materials – hard-faced segments and picks
South African Independent Power Producers Association:
resources ■ Primary Sizer: of Feed the sizesarea from 1,000 would mm to 2,500 create
mm – throughput up to 12,000 t/h
www.saippa.org.za
■ Secondary Sizer: Feed sizes from 200 mm to 800 mm – throughput up to 6,000 t/h
the renewable energy to form the
■ In-house Mineral Laboratory supports Sizer selection
South African Wind Energy Association: www.sawea.org.za
green hydrogen. ■
EDITOR'S CHOI
factured by Bushveld Energy’s U
technology partner, UniEnergy
Technologies (UET) and deploye
Eskom’s Research, Testing and
Development (RT&D) Centre in
Rosherville, South Africa. The V
a peak of over 120 kWh, was com
sioned during the last quarter o
will be tested for a period of 18 m
In parallel to the market stud
Bushveld Energy and the IDC un
techno-economic study to evalu
merit of establishing a vanadium
lyte production plant in South A
Study results have indicated t
Bushveld Energy can manufact
dium electrolyte at globally com
cost levels.
The study determined the via
establishing a scalable plant wi
production capacity of 200 MWh
annum that could easily scale to
more times that capacity, as de
The scope of the project will e
the construction of an electroly
EASTERN CAPE BUSINESS 2023/24
28
TAKRAF Africa
96 Loper Avenue, Aeroport, Spartan
Kempton Park, 1619, South Africa
T: +27 11 201 2300
takraf.afr@tenova.com
www.takraf.com