Green Overview Solutions

thyssenkrupp Uhde, as a proudly environmentally-conscious company, is helping to green the planet through its leading-edge green technology solutions. Combining decades of experience and expertise, the company owns a large portfolio of chemical process technologies, including those for the production of green chemicals such as green ammonia and green methanol. For large scale green hydrogen production based on alkaline water electrolysis, thyssenkrupp Uhde collaborates with its sister company, thyssenkrupp nucera.

The global adoption of green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for clean energy and transport applications is rapidly gaining traction as the urgency to tackle climate change accelerates. Energy transition holds great potential for Africa, unlocking the continent’s economy through new sustainable energy investments and becoming an exporter of clean energy.

In South Africa, insecurity of energy supply and its accompanying negative effects on the country’s economic growth is speeding up the demand for the green energy transition. Decreasing the country’s dependence on coal-fired power stations and moving to renewable or clean energy generation is the way forward. It holds countless advantages that will underpin economic growth and stimulate foreign investments. According to a recent statement by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the clean energy transition has the potential to create 250 000 jobs in South Africa over a period of 25 years. South Africa’s energy security can be addressed by fast tracking projects focussed on green energy i.e. wind, solar and green hydrogen.

thyssenkrupp Uhde’s Senior Sales Engineer, Nithesh Mohun, notes that the rapid deployment of these green technologies is essential. “Fortunately, South Africa’s climate and geography are well- suited for a hydrogen economy; we have an abundance of sun and wind as well as large expanses. In line with the South African Government’s hydrogen strategy, massive investments are being made ininfrastructure for the large-scale production of green hydrogen. This includes the development of the Green Hydrogen Valley project in the Provinces of Limpopo, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.”

Mohun unpacks the potential of green hydrogen, noting that it is so much more than a mere zero- carbon energy carrier. As an enabler, green hydrogen is the basis for other green technologies. It can be used to create a suite of products including green ammonia, explosives, green methanol, synthetic fuels, and synthetic natural gas. Moreover, green hydrogen applications include mobility and power generation via fuel cells and can be conveniently stored for deployment when needed.”

While the world clearly wants hydrogen, Mohun points out that getting it to countries in Europe for example, poses a challenge. He explains: “Gaseous hydrogen takes up more space than liquid hydrogen. Transporting large quantities of it in gas form is not feasible. Therefore, the solution would be to transport hydrogen as a liquid and to then convert it to gas at the point of storage or use. However, this requires the energy intensive liquefaction process, which itself is not economically feasible. We therefore look at hydrogen carriers as an alternative. We can take the hydrogen we produce and combine it with nitrogen to produce ammonia, a high-density energy carrier.”

thyssenkrupp Uhde has a CO2-free green ammonia production solution based on thyssenkrupp nucera’s AWE technology and 100% renewable feedstocks. Once Europe receives the ammonia, the ammonia can be cracked to hydrogen and nitrogen at the point of receipt. The associated cracking technology is also part of the ThyssenKrupp portfolio.

When green hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide green methanol can be produced. Methanol, like ammonia, is also a feasible energy carrier. Methanol is used as a raw product in the manufacturing of plastics and polymers. It is also used as a fuel additive for cleaner, less harmful CO2 emissions during combustion. thyssenkrupp Uhde also offers carbon capture technology for cleaning up the gases that are emitted into the air from smoke stacks. The harmful substances that have been captured can be stored and beneficiated later.

Green technologies also hold advantages for Africa’s agricultural industry with green ammonia and green urea serving as green fertilizers. All that is needed for the production of green urea is ammonia and a source of CO2.With over four decades of experience in the design and construction of urea plants, thyssenkrupp Uhde is regarded as one of the top international contractors in this field.

South Africa is advancing into green ammonia solutions with a proposed green ammonia export facility planned for construction at the Coega Special Economic Zone in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape. According to various reports, the facility shall produce up to 780,000 ton-per annum of green ammonia with full operation scheduled by the end of 2026.