Coega Green Ammonia Project is planned to be developed in the Eastern Cape of South Africa with an estimated investment of ZAR105bn ($5.8bn).
The project will feature a 1,200 MW capacity Green Hydrogen electrolyser and associated Ammonia Production Plant.
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It will be developed by Hive Hydrogen South Africa, a company backed by Hive Energy and Built Africa.
The project, which will deliver 1.2 million tonnes of green ammonia annually, is expected to be commissioned in 2028.
Once operational, the project will support the energy transition in South Africa by reducing carbon emissions and replacing diesel and heavy fuels with green ammonia. It will also export green ammonia and hydrogen to the US, Europe, and Far East.
The project will create over 20,000 direct and indirect jobs and improve water supply by up to 25%.
Coega Project Location
Coega will be developed in Zone 7 of the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Gqeberha in Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, Eastern Cape. The site covers 41 hectares (ha) of land south of the N2 national route of South Africa.
The Port of Ngqura is located to the west and Cerebos saltpans to the east of the project site.
Project Background
In September 2021, the South African Government’s Cabinet approved the Hydrogen Society Roadmap identifying green hydrogen as a strategic investment opportunity.
Hive Hydrogen announced the Coega Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Project in December 2021.
The internal feasibility studies for the project were completed in 2022.
In November 2022, the South African Ministry of Public Works awarded Strategic Integrated Project Status to the project.
In May 2024, the company announced successful Environmental Impact Assessment Records of Decision for 1,230MW Crossroads Green Energy cluster. The cluster will be used to power the ammonia project.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for the Coega Green Ammonia Project was started in July 2024 following the submission of the environmental assessment (EA) application to the Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT).
This was followed by the pre-application Draft Scoping Report (DSR) for review and comments.
However, the initial environmental assessment was withdrawn due to procedural issues and was resubmitted in September 2024.
The Draft Scoping Report (DSR) was re-released for review and comment from September to October 2024.
Coega Ammonia Project Details
Main infrastructure of the project will include an electrolyser for hydrogen production, an air separation unit to extract nitrogen, an ammonia production plant, an onsite substation, and bulk ammonia storage tanks.
The other components will be a desalination plant, water pipelines, an ammonia pipeline for export through an existing berth in the Port of Nqura, and transmission lines between the plant and the Dedisa Substation, and water supply from an onsite desalination plant among others.
The Coega project will be powered by renewable energy generated from a combination of offsite solar PV and wind projects.
For electrolysis and cooling, water will be abstracted from Ngqura Port. It will be desalinated at the Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination Plant located near the production plant sourced from Cerebos.
During electrolysis, water will be split into hydrogen and oxygen. An air separation unit will extract nitrogen from the atmosphere.
Under high pressure and temperature, hydrogen and nitrogen will be combined via the Haber-Bosch Process to produce ammonia.
The liquid ammonia will be stored in bulk storage tanks onsite and then pumped to the port for export.
Power Supply
The renewable energy will be powered by 1,230MW Crossroads Green Energy Cluster and two Genesis Eco-Energy’s two wind farms with a combined capacity of 372MW.
The power will be transmitted to the ammonia plant via transmission lines owned and operated by South African electricity public utility Eskom Holdings.
The transmission lines will be connected to the Dedisa Substation. Up to four transmission lines of maximum 400kV combined capacity will be connected into Zone 7 of the Coega SEZ.
Contracts and Agreements
SLR Consulting (South Africa), an independent environmental consultant, was selected to undertake the scoping and EIA process for the Coega Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Project.
A consortium led by Nelson Mandela University and Ikigai received a UK Government grant under the South Africa-UK PACT to deliver a feasibility study exploring the viability of Green Hydrogen Production and Export Infrastructure in Eastern Cape region.
The consortium includes the Thames Estuary Growth Board, University College London, National Gas, University of Kent, and DNV.
Hive Energy, Hive Hydrogen, the Nedbank Group, the Development Bank of Southern Africa, and Advantage Partners will also support the consortium.
In December 2023, Hive signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Japanese corporation Itochu to advance Hive’s Coega Green Ammonia Export Project. Both companies will work together on viable green hydrogen and ammonia project development, production, operation, marketing, off take and distribution.
