Can you introduce Phelan Green Energy?

Phelan Green Energy spearheads sustainable solutions worldwide - including solar PV, green hydrogen, batteries and wind energy - with offices spanning six countries across four continents, having especially strong bases in South Africa and India. Our vision is to be the lowest-cost producer of green energies globally, and we are continuously innovating to mold the future of sustainable energy. 

Can you elaborate on Phelan Green Energy’s green hydrogen project in Arequipa, Peru? 

Phelan Green Energy is a global leader in green hydrogen energy innovation with a focus on green ammonia and eSAF produced in the desert lands of South Africa, Peru and Egypt. Our South African green hydrogen project is already quite advanced, and we expect to produce the first molecules by the end of 2027. The plant perfected in South Africa is our template, and we are basically “copying and pasting” this project into Peru.

We are set to develop an approximately US$2 billion hydrogen and ammonia production plant based on solar energy generation in Santa Rita, Arequipa. The plant will be powered by a 1.5 GW solar facility and will have the capacity to produce 80,000 t/y of green hydrogen. This hydrogen will then be converted into 440,000 t/y of green ammonia for export. The hydrogen facility will be constructed on 4,000 hectares of land, and the processing plant will be built in the port of Matarani on Peru’s southern coast. Production will cater to both domestic demand and international markets with the green ammonia geared for export to Japan and South Korea. 

Do you see the potential to use the green hydrogen and green ammonia produced in Peru for the mining industry? 

Products stemming from our green hydrogen production include green ammonia and low-density ammonia nitrate suitable for the mining industry, but Peru will have to introduce a proper carbon tax mechanism to meet its Paris commitments,  that will push companies to use greener products and energy sources so that the country can decrease its national carbon footprint and also trade their products internationally without incurring carbon fees and penalties. 

Being taxed on carbon-intensive products will become a global reality within the next decade, and the sooner companies start planning for that reality and start utilizing green products and energies, the better.  With copper and steel production being carbon-intensive, pressure is going to come on Peru as the country is producing 15 million t/y of CO2 in the copper industry, and that is with very little beneficiation as they are exporting a significant amount of copper raw material. The future is that products such as copper, steel and cement will have to be smelted at source as the carbon tax penalties for transporting it and beneficiating in other countries are just going to be too onerous and expensive. The day will come when most of the copper produced in Peru will be beneficiated in the country, and to be able to trade it internationally, it will have to be processed with renewable energy. 

According to the International Energy Agency, global demand for green hydrogen will be 500 million t/y by 2050. Our plants in Peru and South Africa will each initially produce 80,000 t/y, with scale-up plans already in place to boost production. 

How is the Peruvian government supporting Phelan Green Energy? 

Green hydrogen production in Peru is a valuable opportunity as it will position the country for the future, modernize its energy matrix to supply the domestic and export markets, and the project will employ residents of the Arequipa and Matarani areas and will be one of the key economic activities of the region. The government has facilitated this ambitious project by granting a concession of 4,000 hectares in Santa Rita, Arequipa, and an additional 50 hectares at the port of Matarani designated for the processing plant. The project's approval as a "Necesidad Publica" by the Regional State Council of Peru allows development to be accelerated and further highlights the broad support it enjoys from local and national authorities. 

We hope that we can get fast-track assistance moving through the planning phase and to be producing the first molecules at Matarani by the end of 2028.