Industrial and welding products group Afrox, which is owned by the Linde Group, has signed a ten-year power purchase agreement with Discovery Green for the supply of renewable energy to iAfrox's Kuilsrivier air separation unit in Cape Town.
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Sub-Saharan Africa industrial and welding products group Afrox has signed a ten-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Discovery Green to supply renewable energy to its Kuilsrivier air separation unit in Cape Town.
Discovery Green was formed in 2023 as a business unit of the Discovery medical aid and financial services group. It aggregates renewable electricity supply, optimises coverage against client load profiles, and delivers long-term price certainty, regulatory compliance, and measurable decarbonisation at scale.
In terms of the PPA, Discovery Green aims to provide Afrox with about 28 GWh of renewable electricity annually, starting in April 2028, from a portfolio of wind and solar assets from the Western Cape, Mpumalanga, and the Free State.
The companies expect that the renewable energy will reduce Afrox's carbon emissions by an estimated 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
"This agreement underscores Afrox's commitment to increasing renewable energy sourcing and reducing its Scope 2 emissions. It also strengthens the resilience of the electricity supply in South Africa and supports Afrox's ability to deliver essential industrial gases with a reduced carbon footprint," said Ferdinand Kuehner, managing director of Afrox.
He said that as the South African energy landscape undergoes rapid reform, Afrox is transitioning its energy model to ensure long-term resilience and environmental stewardship.
The agreement with Discovery Green allows Afrox to receive renewable energy from a portfolio of projects, including the Overberg Wind Farm, Tournee, and Notsi Solar Farms. Presently, this portfolio of assets has a generation capacity of more than 700 MW and is expected to grow further as Discovery Green increases capacity.
Discovery Green's model is designed to ensure a stable supply of renewable energy by balancing wind and solar generation across different geographic locations. Afrox will receive a reliable energy supply aligned with its industrial load requirements, delivering both operational reliability and long-term price certainty.
Discovery Green's CEO Andre Nepgen said: "Afrox is demonstrating how leading industrial players can modernise energy procurement. Our role extends beyond being an electricity trader. We provide a platform that simplifies how these complex renewable portfolios are structured for a long-term solution that delivers both price certainty and sustainability for Afrox."
Discovery Green works by aggregating power supply, optimising coverage against client load profiles, and delivering long-term price certainty, regulatory compliance, and measurable decarbonisation at scale. In March, it signed an offtake agreement on the Notsi Solar Project, which had reached financial close in that month.
The Notsi solar photovoltaic project in the Free State currently ranks as the largest solar PV project in South Africa, spanning more than 1,000 hectares and comprising more than 860,000 solar panels. Its annual energy output is enough to power about 140,000 homes a year.
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