Namibia embarks on green hydrogen
Audio 02:09
Combined wind and solar farms will produce green hydrogen in Namibia.
(Illustrative image) © Hyphen Hydrogen Energy
By: Charlotte Cosset Follow
2 min
In early November, the southern African country announced that it had chosen the Hyphen Hydrogen Energy consortium for its innovative project to install green hydrogen in the Tsau Khaeb park.
Objective: to produce 300,000 tonnes of hydrogen and green ammonia by 2030.
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Combined wind and solar farms will make it possible to produce green hydrogen. And the site was not chosen at random. “
This site is one of the 5 best in the world that combines both wind and sun for the production of green hydrogen at low cost
,” says Marco Raffinetti, CEO of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy.
Thanks to this project, we estimate that we will avoid the release of around 45 million tonnes of CO2.
In terms of job creation, during the operational phase we will have around
3,000 permanent employees. During the construction phase on average, each year there will be around
15,000 direct jobs.
"
This project was made possible by the Namibian authorities who are betting on investing in this extraordinary company. “
We realized that this industry is brand new, that it is dynamic, that it is constantly evolving and changing,”
explains James Mnyupe, economic advisor to the Namibian president and hydrogen commissioner
.
This project is really very strategic for us
.
It will produce green hydrogen. We can use this synthetic fuel to decarbonize our activities such as diamond mining.
"
“
Another important point,”
says James Mnyupe, “
the electricity produced can also be used to provide cheaper electricity to Namibia and we can even then transfer this electricity to rural areas.
"
Pipeline to South Africa
Namibia is the second least populated country in the world, with only 2.4 million inhabitants.
This does not traditionally make it very attractive for investment.
James Mnyupe saw an opportunity: “
For now, we estimate that foreign investment in our country could amount to 9.4 billion dollars.
This will lead to the construction of new infrastructures or the improvement of existing ones.
"
The production of green energy should be mainly exported to European countries - among the largest producers of CO2 - and to its neighbor, South Africa.
In the very long term, a pipeline transporting green hydrogen between the two countries is even envisaged.
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