Sun and green power

Throughout Europe, the case for hydrogen has never been more compelling in terms of the quest for cleaner fuels and reduced dependence on Russian oil and gas. That’s why a recent fact-finding trip to one of southwest Africa’s most sparsely populated countries not only represented a significant step in Germany’s transition but an innovative example of international co-operation on one of the biggest issues affecting the planet. The trip involved a delegation from two Frankfurt-based institutions, DECHEMA and the Institute for Social-Ecological Research, and represented the second part of a two-and-a-half-year project designed to not only benefit both countries but bring significantly wider advantages.

The long-term goal is to promote the production of green hydrogen in Namibia, taking advantage of the country’s natural resources with a view to exporting it to Germany in a cost-effective way. It’s the latest initiative to win the financial backing of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research who are keen to expand international hydrogen partnerships to supplement the shortfall within the country’s own capabilities. In other words, it’s an ideal marriage between a European government keen to bank on green hydrogen’s potential to supplement its energy transition plans and an African republic with an abundance of key elements such as wind and sunshine looking for serious international investments to reinvent itself as its continent’s first green hydrogen provider.

In the fight against climate change, hydrogen made with renewable electricity is a key tool for decarbonising problematic emission sectors such as heavy industry and aviation. Germany’s National Hydrogen Strategy has underlined its own ambitions to become a global leader in associated technologies, faced with the fact that its demand for the power source will rise to between 90 and 110 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030.

As for the level of investment involving Namibia, the government in Windhoek estimates it will need up to €181 billion by 2040. But the returns are potentially huge. Ministers estimate a strong hydrogen industry could contribute the equivalent of €5.5 billion to the country’s GDP. The first visit by the German delegation took place in December last year over two weeks which saw ISOE delegates discuss areas such as transformation management and social and ecological impacts, as well as more localised issues involving land-use conflicts. The focus of the DECHEMA team was the technical aspects of hydrogen production, market development and water management.

The project supports Namibia’s long-standing plans to become a serious exporter of Green Hydrogen by 2025, a natural progression for a country known to be the driest in the sub-Saharan region and one that has the potential to capture around 10 hours of strong sunlight per day for 300 days per year, according to its president, Hage G Geingob. A key ingredient here is water, something that can be found in abundance along the South Atlantic coast, but in a country that has suffered appalling droughts. And that means building a sufficient number of desalination plants, a subject in which DECHEMA project co-ordinator Dr Daniel Frank has considerable expertise.

It follows a visit to Abu Dhabi earlier in the year by economy minister Robert Habeck. In terms of cost alone, the International Renewable Energy Agency has identified China as the cheapest place to produce green hydrogen in the long term. Chinese producers could be delivering at a levelised cost (LCOH) of just over $0.65 per kg by 2050, slightly ahead of Chile.

Namibia is likely to be relatively expensive in comparison, with costs of $1.20-1.90/kg, although some observers suggest this could be related to IRENA’s (International Renewable Energy Agency) view that much of the country is "not eligible", thanks to water and other constraints - despite the relative low cost of desalination.

With Namibia’s capacity to generate solar power in particular, the country has the potential to be at the forefront of green hydrogen development and progress towards greater energy independence. Its environmental attributes were the driving force behind a joint venture launched last year to build the country’s first green hydrogen production plant. Planned as a demonstration hub for hydrogen applications, it is being built in the Erongo region by The O&L Group and CMB.TECH under the umbrella of Cleanergy Namibia. This is the first development of its kind on the continent.

The two companies say that, if all goes well, a larger scale plant will follow, possibly using ammonia as transport fuel. The aim is to produce green hydrogen from solar power and distribute the clean fuel to applications such as  trucks, trains and ships. O&L Executive Chairman Sven Thieme said it could be the first step in creating an entirely new industry in Namibia enabling knowledge transfer into the country, upskilling opportunities and creating employment.

On a wider level, DECHEMA and the European Desalination Society are launching the International Conference on Desalination for the Green Hydrogen Economy after an agreement was signed between DECHEMA’s Executive Director Andreas Förster and EDS’s president Ursula Annunziata.

Another African country working to establish itself as a low-cost energy exporter to Europe is Morocco, which has established its first green hydrogen system, thanks to a joint initiative between the Institute for Research in Solar Energy and New Energies and the Mohamed VI Polytechnic University. It was launched as a micro-pilot system aiming to produce carbon-free hydrogen from an electrolyser and solar photovoltaic panels. The project is part of "Power-to-X", a sustainable programme for synthetic fuel production and long-term energy storage, set to promote sustainable mobility in the country. The International Renewable Energy Agency expects it to have the third lowest cost of green hydrogen by 2050.