Flourochemicals South Africa (FSA), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) and Nelson Mandela University (NMU) have signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) to advance the Fluorochemicals Strategic Innovation Programme (FSIP).
The TIA is an agency of the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The MoA formalises the development and execution of a national programme aimed at creating a domestic fluorochemicals industry, unlocking the value of South Africa's fluorspar reserves, while reducing the country’s dependence on imported fluorochemicals.
FSA executive director Ivan Radebe describes the FSIP as “a transformative step towards establishing an entirely new industrial value chain in South Africa”.
FSA itself is advancing the development of a 100 000 t/y fluorochemical plant, anchored by a 60 000 t/y high-purity anhydrous hydrogen fluoride (AHF) plant, located on an 80 ha site at the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ), in the Eastern Cape.
