MechChem Africa September-October 2025

John Thompson and BECS to deliver biomass energy solutions John Thompson, a division of ACTOM (Pty) Ltd and South Africa’s leading provider of industrial energy solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Berkeley Energy Corporate Solutions (BECS), a specialist developer and supplier of biomass energy projects.

maintaining competitive pricing.” Unlike other players in the African energy sector, BECS is focused solely on renewable energy and en ergy efficiency solutions, including the use of sustainable biomass to generate steam and/or power. This singular commitment differenti ates the company from other providers in the market, who typically generate energy from predominantly fossil fuels. “This partnership enables us to deliver bankable, long-term energy solutions that meet the real-world needs of industrial clients,” says Nicholas Tatrallyay, Managing Director at BECS. “Together with John Thompson, we are addressing the cost, com plexity and carbon intensity of steam genera tion, helping businesses achieve sustainability and growth.” Expanding across Africa Initial deployments are already underway in South Africa, with the model now being intro duced to industrial clients in Zambia, Kenya, Mozambique and Ghana, where energy resilience and sustainability are key enablers of growth. This solution is particularly attrac tive to companies looking to reduce carbon emissions and operational risk while securing predictable long-term energy pricing. The partnership is already progressing on a range of biomass boiler projects across South Africa, with potential expansion into other African markets where John Thompson has an existing footprint. Each solution is de signed to be scalable, bankable and tailored to the operational realities of industrial users. By integrating BECS’ biomass fuel solu tions into John Thompson’s proven boiler systems and operational models, clients can expect a seamless transition to renewable energy without sacrificing performance or uptime. “This is not just about replacing a fuel source. It is about delivering an end-to-end renew able energy solution that works,” concludes Grobbelaar. “Together with BECS, we are giving African industry the tools to achieve sustainability, profitability and resilience.” www.johnthompson.co.za Designed for delivery and long-term impact

Nicholas Tatrallyay, Managing Director at BECS and Jaco Grobbelaar, CEO of John Thompson Industrial, sign a strategic partnership to accelerate the deployment of reliable, renewable steam solutions.

T ogether, ACTOM’s John Thompson and Berkeley Energy Corporate Solutions (BECS) aim to accelerate the deployment of reliable, renew able steam solutions to industrial customers in South Africa and across Africa. This collabo ration brings together John Thompson’s deep engineering expertise and manufacturing capability with BECS’ innovative approach to sourcing, securing and supplying sustainable biomass fuel. The alliance is a powerful partnership geared towards helping businesses decar bonise their operations, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and meet growing demands for cost-effective, renewable energy. As a non-exclusive partnership, BECS will continue to pursue other energy projects independently, while John Thompson will en gage BECS in suitable projects for customers that require funding, development support, and scalable energy-as-a-service delivery. Decarbonising with confidence With industrial sectors under growing pres sure to transition to low-carbon operations, this partnership is perfectly timed. The indus trial sector is a significant energy consumer and carbon emitter, particularly in industries that rely on high-temperature process heat, such as food and beverage, pulp and paper, chemicals, textiles and mining. Switching to cleaner fuels is more than just a regulatory imperative; it is a business neces sity, which is where the John Thompson-BECS

model comes in. The partnership offers a low carbon steam solution based on sustainable biomass feedstock. Under a long-term heat offtake agreement, the system is designed, funded, built and operated on behalf of the client, who pays only for the steam consumed. “This approach helps businesses overcome the two biggest barriers to decarbonisa tion: the high upfront cost and technical complexity of energy system upgrades,” says Jaco Grobbelaar, Industrial CEO at John Thompson. “Our clients do not need to become energy experts or infrastructure own ers, because we take on the risk, the capex and the performance accountability.” What sets this partnership apart is BECS’s strategic approach to biomass sourcing. BECS goes beyond simple fuel supply, work ing directly with large-scale agricultural and forestry producers and processors to secure long-term feedstock contracts that are sus tainable, traceable and cost-effective. This ensures a reliable fuel supply chain tailored to the client’s specific needs, something many energy developers cannot offer. “In a market where supply risks and quality inconsistencies can stall biomass adoption, we provide stability,” explains Jonathan Probert, Business Development Manager for Southern Africa at BECS. “We align our supply chains to specific project locations and customer volumes, ensuring security of supply while A unique approach to biomass supply

18 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2025