29-02-2024

Air Liquide and Sasol sign deal to supply an additional 110 MW of renewable energy to Secunda site

Air Liquide and Sasol have signed new Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Enel Green Power RSA¹  for the long term supply of an additional capacity of 110 MW of renewable power to Sasol’s Secunda site in South Africa. This is the fourth set of PPAs signed by Air Liquide and Sasol after those announced in 2023. Together, these PPAs represent a total renewable power capacity of around 690 MW. For Air Liquide, these contracts will represent an annual reduction in its CO₂ emissions of approximately 1.2 million tonnes, and contribute to Air Liquide’s targeted reduction by 30% to 40% of the CO₂ emissions associated with oxygen production in Secunda by 2031.

Within the framework of this agreement, Enel Green Power will create a local company with strong socio-economic development commitments which will build a wind farm located in the Eastern Cape province. This renewable energy production facility is scheduled to be operational by 2026.

Nicolas Poirot, Chief Executive Officer of Africa Middle-East and India, said: “These new renewable electricity supply agreements are yet another sign of our strong joint commitment to decarbonise the production of oxygen in Secunda since Air Liquide took over Sasol’s units in 2021. These long-term contracts will actively support the development of renewable energy in South Africa, for the benefit of the country’s electrical system and ultimately of the South African society in the context of a Just Transition.”

Air Liquide acquired Sasol’s 16 oxygen production units in Secunda and has been operating them since June 2021, in the framework of a long-term supply contract with its partner. Including another Air Separation Unit (ASU) it already operated for Sasol, Air Liquide operates a total of 17 ASUs in Secunda, with a total capacity of 47,000 tonnes/day of oxygen. Air Liquide plans to reduce by 30% to 40% the CO₂ emissions (Scope 2) arising from the 16 oxygen production units it acquired from Sasol through a multi-year investment and modernization plan and a steep increase of the site’s procurement in renewable energies.

¹ Enel Green Power RSA is the joint venture that represents partnership between Enel’s renewable arm Enel Green Power (EGP) and Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to build and operate renewable plants in Sub-Saharan Africa.