Novo gears up for a new age of clean, green development

ENTREPRENEUR Andri Hugo is on a quest to position Novo Energy as a leading supplier of clean, alternative energy and an authority in the natural gas economy.

The company recently unveiled a R130 million state-of-the-art natural gas compression (NGC) station in Witbank, Mpumalanga, to meet the growing demand for cleaner and sustainable energy in a country which is battling an energy crisis that has seen Eskom implement rolling blackouts to try to keep the lights on.

Hugo, Novo Energy’s chief executive, describes as strategic the setting up of the facility in Mpumalanga, saying the province is the global number one hotspot for nitrogen dioxide emissions.

In an interview with Business Report, the businessman says Novo Energy is committed to providing integrated energy solutions in South Africa and helping the country move away from its coal-based economy.

Hugo says the firm is also committed to strengthening energy security, revitalising Mpumalanga’s economy and playing a central role in environmental impact reduction.

He wants gas to be at the forefront of the country’s total energy mix, where it makes up about 3%, to stimulate economic growth, development and job creation.

“We are in a predicament. We don’t have sufficient reliable electricity to grow our economy, so gas is definitely going to play a major role in the total energy mix in future,” says Hugo, who holds an honours degree in technology management from the University of Pretoria.

“There are lots of energy reserves in Southern Africa. Africa has been blessed with an abundance of resources, including minerals, energy, natural resources and human capital.

We are putting up our hands to support efforts so we can help to grow the gas economy

Andri Hugo

“A combination of these, through industrial activity, can address most of the socio-economic challenges we face.”

Novo Energy was established in 2008 and has grown to supply gas to industrial, mining, pharmaceutical, agricultural, food and transport customers.

“We also supply government hospitals in the Gauteng region. We have switched their boilers from using diesel and coal to using natural gas,” he says.

Hugo says they supply the Johannesburg metro police department with gas as some of the department’s vehicles run on natural gas, as well as Tshwane’s A Re Yeng Bus Rapid Transit system.

“This is quite a nice fuel to use in vehicles and it’s a lot cheaper. There are massive savings for customers who switch to gas.”

Hugo says the reason they built the facility in Mpumalanga was to supply customers who were not on a gas pipeline.

“As a gas aggregation hub we can receive gas, process the molecules and manage the logistics of getting the gas to our customers,” he says.

“From mines, to bakeries, factories, hospitals or a fleet, we deliver gas to sites by road – our gas packs, installed on trailers, are then fed into either a factory or refuelling station.

He says many businesses across a variety of industries have never had access to a natural gas pipeline and have been restricted to the use of coal and refinery products that are both dirty and expensive.

“Now, because of this new infrastructure, we can help them make the switch to natural gas a cleaner, more sustainable alternative energy that’s half the price. And we can distribute gas anywhere in the country.”

Hugo says that although the company is currently operating in Mpumalanga and Gauteng, they are looking at spreading to other provinces such as the Free State, North West and Kwazulu-natal, before expanding their footprint across the continent.

He says Novo Energy is also looking at converting the old coal power station in Kempton Park into a natural gas facility.

“This is a big development. A feasibility study will be done by the end of this year,” says Hugo, adding that there has been a lot of focus by the government on the gas economy, especially by the Department of

Trade and Industry, which is headed by Minister Rob Davies.

“We are putting up our hands to support the government’s efforts so that we can help to grow the country’s gas economy,” he says.