Air Liquide take hands with Sasol

Air Liquide and Sasol will launch a Request for Proposal (RFP) to supply 600 MW of renewable energy to their operations on the site of Secunda in South Africa, as part of their joint commitment to procure 900 MW of renewables by 2030. This will be the largest corporate RFP in South Africa for the supply of renewable energy. These capacities will in particular supply the biggest oxygen production site in the world, which Air Liquide is in the process of buying from Sasol pending the Competition Commission’s approval. The use of renewable energy will greatly contribute to the objective to reduce by 30% to 40% its CO2 emissions by 2030, in line with Air Liquide Climate Objectives and Sasol’s commitment to lower its carbon footprint. Air Liquide and Sasol will launch a common RFP to the market later this month for the procurement of the first 600 MW capacity, of which 400 MW will be allocated to Air Liquide and 200 MW to Sasol, and want to finalize the signature of long term Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) before the end of 2021.

Both companies are targeting the first capacities to be operational by 2023 and individual projects must demonstrate a generation capacity of at least 70MW. The final signature of these PPAs will depend on the completion of the acquisition by Air Liquide of Sasol’s oxygen production units, which remains subject to approval by the Competition Commission. Air Liquide announced its intention to acquire and operate Sasol’s Secunda oxygen plants in July 2020. In this context, Air Liquide would operate the 16 air separation units (ASU) of this site, with an installed capacity of 42,000 tons/day, in addition to the unit it already operates today. Present on the site since 1979, Air Liquide had initially built and sold these 16 ASUs to Sasol and will invest in their modernization. In addition to the benefits this would bring in terms of safety, reliability and efficiency, the solution provided by Air Liquide would allow for a targeted reduction of 30% to 40% in CO2 emissions arising from the oxygen production within 10 years from the implementation date of the deal. Ronnie Chalmers, Air Liquide Vice-President Africa Middle East and India, said: “This call for tenders, the largest launched by the private sector in South Africa, is a major lever to the decarbonization of the Secunda air separation units. Combining operational efficiency and reduction of CO2 emissions, our partnership with Sasol illustrates our capacity to work with our customers to help them lower their carbon footprint and to act in favor of the climate and local ecosystems. Climate action is at the heart of Air Liquide’s growth strategy, and we will continue to Act for a sustainable future.”

Lebelo Lukhele, Sasol Chief Procurement Officer Energy Business, said: “Due to the highly integrated nature of the Secunda site and the high GHG footprint associated with the ASUs, collaboration between the companies is necessary to ensure optimal GHG reduction benefits. It is anticipated that a collaborative approach will not only result in the original Sasol commitment for the Secunda site being met, but will also be exceeded through the combined efforts.” Interested bidders may apply for access to the RFP by forwarding their company profile together with contact details to
za-renewable@airliquide.com and renewable.energy@sasol.com. Applications of interest will be accepted until 23 April 2021.