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Following go-ahead for the required renewable energy generation, South Africa's R105-billion Coega Green Ammonia project in Nelson Mandela Bay has now advanced to front-end engineering design (FEED) stage, so that construction can potentially begin in early 2027 and commissioning in December 2029.

Environmental impact assessment work on all of Hive Hydrogen's 3 300 MW of renewable energy assets is now concluded, following the securing of environmental authorisation for the 1 000 MW Carissa wind energy facility, near Beaufort West, in South Africa's Western Cape province.

"We're delighted," is the comment of Hive Hydrogen South Africa chairperson Thulani Gcabashe, a former Eskom CEO, whose Built Africa Group focuses on developing renewable energy projects in South Africa under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Programme.

With 154 wind turbines, Carissa will clean energise seawater into hydrogen, the key ingredient of the green ammonia that is earmarked for export to Asia and Europe.

The Eastern Cape project is now on track to begin FEED in November and conclude final investment decisions by July 2026.

Requests for proposals were invited in July for a plant with a production capacity of one-million-tons plus of green ammonia a year; provision for seawater abstraction, desalination and demineralisation; storage facilities that have two 7 km pipelines for 70 000 t of green ammonia piping; a 1 430 MW solar photovoltaic cluster of nine solar farms; and 1 879 MW of wind power in two clusters of five wind farms.

FEED completion, ammonia plant construction, and renewable energy generation infrastructure are focal points of the proposals requested.

Hive Hydrogen backed by Hive Energy and Built Africa has been working since September 2019 on establishing a large-scale green ammonia plant in South Africa powered by renewable energy to produce one million tonnes a year.

The permitting of the Carissa wind energy facility is the work of a partnership made up of Hive Hydrogen, the Coega Green Ammonia project sponsor, which is the committed offtaker, project developer AMDA Developments, and Blue Crane Environmental, the independent environmental assessment practitioner responsible for leading the environmental impact assessment process.

Coega is one of Hive's three green hydrogen schemes, the other two being Albamed in Spain and Gente Grande in Chile.

Meanwhile, on the global front, Hydrogen Council's McKinsey-authored global hydrogen compass reports that the hydrogen industry worldwide has committed investments totalling $110-billion for 500-plus projects that are past final investment decision, in construction or already operational.

Total committed capacity now exceeds six-million tonnes a year, including an annual one million tonnes already in operation, with China leading the world in total committed investments of $33-billion and 50% of global renewable capacity.

"We're seeing tangible proof of progress," McKinsey quotes Hyundai Motor Group and Hydrogen Council co-chairperson Jaehoon Chang as saying.

In the US, Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association member Air Products last month announced that it had successfully completed the first fill of the world's largest hydrogen sphere at the Kennedy Space Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), in Florida. Air Products reportedly delivered more than 730 000 gallons of liquid hydrogen, more than 50 trailer loads, to fill the 90-foot sphere. The hydrogen will be combined with liquid oxygen to fuel NASA's Artemis missions.

The eleventh Hydrogen Day is scheduled to be hosted by the Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association on October 8 - 10/08 in recognition of hydrogen's 1.008 atomic weight. Taking part will be former US Department of...