South Africa’s Sovereign Foods expands partnership with Energy Partners

SOUTH AFRICA – Sovereign Foods, a prominent poultry producer in South Africa, has once again teamed up with Energy Partners, an energy company, in a groundbreaking 15-year Cooling-as-a-Service (CaaS) agreement at its Hartbeespoort facility.

Building upon their successful collaboration at the Kariega processing facility in the Eastern Cape, this new partnership aims to meet the increasing production demands of Sovereign Foods efficiently and reliably.

Under the terms of the agreement, Energy Partners has taken on the responsibility of decommissioning two outdated refrigeration plants at the Hartbeespoort facility and constructing a centralized refrigeration plant.

This move not only meets Sovereign’s efficiency and cooling requirements but also ensures compliance with stringent noise level regulations.

In a departure from traditional models, Energy Partners has invested 100% of the capital—amounting to approximately R92 million(US$ 5M)—to design, build, operate, and maintain the new plant over the 15-year period.

This innovative approach shifts operational risks, such as downtime and maintenance, away from Sovereign Foods, allowing them to focus on their core business operations and increasing production capacity.

According to Coenrad Ehlers, Asset and Service Manager at Energy Partners, the new ammonia refrigeration system represents a significant leap forward in efficiency and sustainability. 

To address noise pollution concerns, the plant room has been constructed with specialized acoustic materials and strategically placed condensers. 

Looking ahead, the system is designed for future scalability to accommodate increasing cooling demands. Already, baseline energy savings of 20% have been achieved, thanks to Energy Partners’ digital twin technology, which monitors and optimizes plant performance in real-time.

With roots tracing back to 1948, Sovereign Foods has a rich heritage in chicken farming in the Eastern Cape. Originally established as a family-owned venture in the Rocklands Valley near Uitenhage, the company gradually evolved into a comprehensive and self-sufficient poultry enterprise.

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