Climate-friendly Fertilisers for Germany and South Africa
13.05.2025
Synthetic nitrogen fertilisers ensure high yields in agriculture, but also contribute significantly to climate change. How can their production be decarbonised? What policies can create an enabling environment for the switch to green technologies? And how can the fertiliser industry become a central field of action for the South African-German Energy Partnership? Sibusisiwe Khuzwayo, a chemical engineer from South Africa, is exploring these questions during a one-year fellowship at RIFS as part of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation‘s German Chancellor Fellowship Programme.
Nitrogen fertiliser is responsible for around five per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Its chemical base material is ammonia, which is produced from hydrogen and nitrogen via the Haber Bosch process at temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius and under high pressure. This energy-intensive process causes considerable emissions of greenhouse gases, especially CO2. Using green hydrogen – produced from renewable energy – would significantly reduce the carbon footprint of ammonia production, enabling it to be labelled as “green”.
Expertise in theory and practice
"Green ammonia is named as a strategic priority by the Just Energy Transition Partnership between Germany and South Africa, which was adopted in 2021. However, the implementation of this goal is still in its infancy. During my fellowship, I want to carry out a techno-economic analysis to assess the feasibility and economic viability of decarbonising the production process," explains Khuzwayo. Based on this analysis, she also wants to develop recommendations for business models and regulatory frameworks.
Khuzwayo came to RIFS with two university degrees and several years of professional experience as a chemical engineer: after completing a bachelor's degree at Wits University in Johannesburg, she worked in the mining industry in South Africa for five years. It was during this time that she became interested in sustainability: "During my time at the mining company, I was involved in numerous technological developments and the optimisation of metallurgical circuits to improve energy efficiency and reduce overall process-related emissions. I found this an exciting and meaningful task that I wanted to tackle with an even stronger scientific background." She gained this through a Master's degree in Engineering at Imperial College London.
Achieving Climate Neutrality – Fairly
In the first phase of her project, Khuzwayo will review scientific literature and conduct interviews with representatives of industrial companies such as SKW Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz in Saxony-Anhalt or the Norwegian chemical company Yara, which also operates in Germany and South Africa. The starting conditions in both countries are very different, she emphasises. For example, South Africa has an outdated grid infrastructure, but a high potential for renewable energies. The country could evolve from a net importer of fertilisers into an exporter of green hydrogen and its derivatives such as ammonia, with support from the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Germany.
Although her expertise lies in the technical field, it is important to Sibusisiwe Khuzwayo to also keep social issues in mind. "A truly equitable energy transition cannot take place in a context where millions of South Africans still do not have reliable access to electricity." Efforts to improve energy access must take place in parallel with the decarbonisation of industry.
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