FDN hosts a lecture on hydrogen
Green hydrogen in Namibia as an “export hit” – great potential
The Forum of German-speaking Namibians last week shared information on a possible “green hydrogen revolution” by way of a lecture.The guest via Zoom was Dr Daniel Frank, senior consultant for water management at Dechema, the Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology e.V. in Germany.
In an expert talk with lively participation from the audience, he spoke about the potential of green hydrogen from Namibia as an export "hit".
In the coming years, hydrogen will be needed primarily in industry and for feeding into the grid. For every one kilogram of hydrogen, producers need twenty to thirty kilograms of seawater. In Germany, which wants to become a pioneer in the hydrogen market as part of its national hydrogen strategy, there will be great demand for green hydrogen from aspiring export countries such as Namibia. In its unique position as one of the international hydrogen hotspots, Namibia wants to establish itself as a proven provider in hydrogen trading and at the same time act as a self-confident negotiating partner.
Namibia's goal in the future is to no longer export raw materials as unprocessed resources with minimal profit, but increasingly to export materials that have already been processed and are therefore already part of the value chain, Franksaid. In this sense, for example, a project linked to hydrogen production to produce green iron in Namibia is important. The Hylron project is the world's first plant to produce green iron using hydrogen. It is supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, among others, and is also intended to export the iron to Europe.
Given its interest in importing hydrogen from Namibia, Europe is required to "stick to its guns" and permanently convince Namibia of the benefits of such an agreement. Namibia ultimately places a clear focus on exports in its hydrogen production plans because it does not have the industry for high-level self-consumption. A challenge for Namibia, however, is that it has to train skilled workers for hydrogen production in a timely manner, but not too early, so that they do not leave the country before production starts.
In summary, Frank viewed Namibia's hydrogen projects as sources of massive economic potential.