Sasol, Anglo American, De Beers partner to generate feedstock for renewable diesel production

Sasol announced Feb. 4 that it, Anglo American and De Beers have entered into a joint-development agreement (JDA) to pilot the production of feedstock for renewable diesel.  

This is an important initiative for the companies as they endeavor to establish the value chain for renewable fuels in South Africa, Sasol noted. 

Signed against the backdrop of the Investing in African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, the objective of the JDA is to assess the technical and commercial viability of feedstock production, starting with solaris—a nicotine-free tobacco crop with high seed yield—and moringa plantations to generate vegetable oil.  

Sasol said its existing assets can take a variety of feedstocks and enable them to produce renewable diesel using vegetable oil quicker than greenfield projects, and at lower costs. 

“Renewable diesel is transformative—it meets the technical standards of conventional diesel while significantly reducing greenhouse-gas emissions,” said Sarushen Pillay, the executive vice president of Sasol’s business-building, strategy and technology portfolio, at the JDA signing ceremony. “Our customers can therefore use it as a drop-in fuel in their existing equipment and machinery to meet their greenhouse-gas reduction commitments. Partnering with Anglo American, we’re investigating the development of a local and cost-effective supply chain for sustainable feedstock, utilizing vegetable oil to produce renewable diesel in our facilities. As we innovate for a better world, Sasol’s ambition is clear—to help our customers navigate the energy transition while delivering high-quality, sustainable solutions for a low-carbon future.”  

Alison Atkinson, Anglo American’s projects and development director, added, “This is an important initiative to strengthen our commitment to reducing our greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040. It is an innovation that contributes to our sustainability journey as a business and our quest to maintain a healthy environment by creating carbon-neutral operations.”  

Atkinson said Anglo American worked closely with its De Beers colleagues to conceive the partnership, given De Beers’ prefeasibility studies on renewable diesel production trials within its mining operations and host communities.  

“De Beers is also providing the more than 20-hectare pieces of land on which the trial feedstock will be grown, in Blouberg, Messina; Marble Hall in Limpopo; and the Voorspoed mine-closure site in the Free State,” she said.   

Although renewable diesel production in South Africa is not yet at a commercial scale, Sasol noted that recent market engagements indicate that the country’s renewable fuels market is promising, driven by end-customer demands and their decarbonization targets.