Sasol Limited Climate Change Report 2021 - Book - Page 14
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A NET ZERO AMBITION
Our Energy Business (CONTINUED)
The art of the possible: Our fossil-fuel-free vision
Leveraging our existing assets to supply green products for hard-to-abate sectors is a competitive advantage
Green feedstock
Conversion
Premium sustainable
products
C
Biomass
SAF
Industry
Methanol
•
•
•
•
C
DAC
Reverse water gas
shift (modified and new)
Fischer-Tropsch
synthesis
+
Renewable energy
Propylene
Refining and
conversion
Electrolysis
H2
Chemical industries
Industrial process heat
Green steel
Mining
Transport
+ CO
H2
End use sectors
+ N2
Ethylene
Aviation
Shipping
Rail
Heavy duty transport
Public transport
Other chemical
derivatives
Commercial
Ammonia
Electricity
Ammonia synthesis
Hydrogen
H2
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•
•
•
•
• Buildings
• Long-term power
New units
Existing units
Reinventing Secunda and Sasolburg
The time is right for South Africa to establish and grow the green
hydrogen economy to realise a clean, secure and affordable energy
future. The country has the key building blocks to move faster than
others in developing a competitive green hydrogen economy. These
ingredients are rich mineral resources, technical capabilities, FT
technology and complementary renewable energy endowments. Sasol
is a key player in accelerating green hydrogen development for our own
and the country's decarbonisation.
A Net Zero ambition for our South African operations was thought to be
impossible by many of our stakeholders. Against the backdrop of highly
energy- and carbon-intensive CTL and gas-to-chemical operations, it
may be difficult to imagine a future where Sasol produces sustainable
fuels and chemicals.
But ironically, converting green hydrogen to SAF is easier for Sasol
compared to others. Sasol is unique in this respect as we are one of the
few companies globally that has the ability to re-purpose existing assets.
Our existing Secunda FT technology is agnostic to the source of carbon and hydrogen
allowing us to pivot away from coal in the long term. Today we use carbon and hydrogen
produced from coal and gas. In the long term this can be replaced with biogenic carbon,
unavoidable industrial streams and direct air capture combined with green hydrogen to
completely decarbonise our operations.
Our Secunda facility is already configured to allow the introduction of sustainable sources of
hydrogen and carbon in incremental quantities. Introducing these sustainable inputs in this
way allows us to progressively move towards a future without fossil fuel feedstocks and
GHG emissions. We are also able to maximise the opportunity by increasing market demand
for sustainable products, including chemicals that command a premium.
Currently, we can produce up to 8 000 bbl/d of fossil jet fuel, which can be converted into
producing the same amount of SAF. Progressively, we can ratchet up the production of
SAF through the introduction of sustainable carbon feedstocks and green hydrogen. The
benefits of using green hydrogen for decarbonisation and as a business growth engine is an
attractive proposition.
Specific units at our Sasolburg facility can also be re-purposed to produce sustainable
chemicals. We are investigating projects that use our existing infrastructure to potentially
commercialise production of green hydrogen within the next 24 months.
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Sasol Climate Change Report 2021
Four proof-of-concept projects are being investigated. The first project focuses on
our Secunda assets through the LEN consortium, where we aim to integrate small
quantities of sustainable carbon feedstocks and green hydrogen to produce SAF.
At our Sasolburg Operations, using our existing electrolyser, we aim to produce
up to 5 tonnes/d of green hydrogen. For both these projects renewable energy
procurement is necessary. Two other projects are being explored to utilise our FT
catalyst for PtX solutions.
Incentives and financing
Various countries are incentivising the production of SAF. Most recently the German
government announced a global hydrogen auction, called the H2Global auction.
Sasol is preparing to participate with the twofold intention of accelerating our
decarbonisation at Secunda and taking our first steps to producing SAF at scale.
We have announced partnerships and continue to explore green financing to
expedite project implementation. We are monitoring the green hydrogen landscape
and believe its cost will reduce significantly in the next decade, facilitating increased
usage, enabling decarbonisation and the production of sustainable products.