Sasol Ltd. (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Sonatrach Raffineria Italiana (SRI) have formed a Temporary Association of Companies (ATI) to collaborate on developing hydrogen production projects in Sicily, as part of the budding process for the Sicilian Regional Council’s National High Technology Center for Hydrogen (“Hydrogen Valley”) proposal.
The companies just recently signed a partnership agreement with the Polytechnic of Turin for a feasibility study on the use of CO2 capture and utilization technology in the industrial processes of the two production sites in Augusta, Sicily, Italy.
“The petrochemical area of Syracuse can and must play a key role in the energy transition,” says Rosario Pistorio, CEO of SRI, “especially in that process of gradual and progressive decarbonization that passes not only through electrification but also through alternative technologies such as low-carbon liquid fuels or energy vectors such as hydrogen. In this context, the skills of our personnel, which have been a strategic national asset for 70 years, must be enhanced in order to act as a driving force for development.
“This activity,” adds Sergio Corso, Vice President Operations Sasol Italy, “marks another exciting step towards a sustainable future, confirming the process of collaboration initiated with our partners to create value and develop innovative solutions for a better and increasingly sustainable world. This announcement also underscores our interest in making hydrogen a key element of Sasol’s sustainability journey”.
Sasol recently announced that it is part of a consortium bidding to produce sustainable aviation fuel under the German government’s H2Global auction platform, using its leadership in the Fischer-Tropsch process. Separately, Sasol has formed an alliance with Toyota South African Motors (TSAM) to explore developing a green hydrogen mobility ecosystem in its headquarters country of South Africa.