Cape Town, South Africa – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to Swayana (Pty) Ltd, a Pretoria-based energy project developer, for a feasibility study that will use innovative U.S. technologies to convert waste gas – also known as off-gas – into a valuable commodity at a plant in South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.  The project will use proprietary technologies from Illinois-based LanzaTech, Inc. to create ethanol from off-gas generated as a byproduct of ferroalloy smelting. 

“USTDA is pleased to support this cutting-edge project, which is creating new opportunities for innovative U.S. technologies that will support South Africa’s commitment to reduce pollution in energy-intensive manufacturing industries,” said USTDA’s Acting Director Thomas R. Hardy.

“This project will open up a new low-carbon footprint fuels and chemical industry in South Africa,” said Joseph Zinyana, Director of Swayana. “The potential for this technology in South Africa is huge because we have many minerals beneficiation plants producing carbon-rich off-gases, but need the technology to turn them into useful products.

Acting Director Hardy signed the grant along with Mr. Zinyana at the American Corner at the Central Library in Cape Town, South Africa. Consul General at U.S. Consulate General Cape Town, Virginia Blaser, witnessed the signing.