South Africa’s ever-increasing transport logistics costs. This is according to Nick Mitchell, COO of Renergen, an integrated alternative and renewable energy business that owns the country’s first and only onshore gas production licence. Mitchell told FTW they believed gas could be a game changer and was already proving to be an efficient solution in the bus industry. “There is no reason why gas cannot transform the trucking industry as well,” he said. With the majority of South Africa’s cargo on road, fuel costs remain the biggest contributor to the country’s high logistics costs. According to Mitchell gas offers an opportunity to reduce this cost. “We have walked the road many still fear to tread,” he told delegates at an oil and gas conference in Cape Town last week. He said the company was set for huge expansion, having just secured a R218-million loan from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) – and lobbying the truck market to switch to gas was high on the agenda. Thirteen gas wells make up Tetra4 which is situated near the town of Welkom in the Free State. The plant has been operational since 2016 and with its new loan in hand is set for major expansion. A new 107km underground pipeline will be funded with the loan. Construction is expected to start before the end of the year. Mitchell said this pipeline would join all the existing wells, taking the gas to a central processing facility from where it would be distributed to market. “Currently a gas-operated fleet has to be home based as there is no infrastructure countrywide to refuel on gas. You would need bespoke gas filling stations for vehicles using only gas,” said Mitchell. Whilst discussions around delivering gas as fuel across South Africa are still in their early stages, Mitchell said a duel fuel model was also possible. “A small modification on a truck will allow it to run on both diesel and gas intermittently. If the gas is finished it just switches over to diesel.” Mitchell said being a producer of low-cost gas that was of exceptionally high standard had saved customers operating off Tetra 4 gas significantly on the cost of fuel.
A small modification on a truck will allow it to run on both diesel and gas intermittently. – Nick Mitchell
