Africa-Press – Namibia. THE government has been advised against making its resources available to industrialised nations to enable them to meet their clean energy needs.
Detlof von Oertzen, the director of VO Consulting, an independent specialist consulting firm active in the energy, environment, and radiation sectors, recently suggested the country should take care to also meet its own development needs.
Namibia’s green hydrogen project seeks to ultimately produce 300 000 tonnes of green hydrogen per year for regional and global markets, either as pure green hydrogen or in a derivative form (green ammonia).
The preferred bidder for the project, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, will have the right to construct and operate the project for a 40-year period, following the conclusion of a feasibility study and approval of the government.
The first phase, which is expected to enter production in 2026, will see the creation of two gigawatts of renewable electricity-generation capacity to produce green hydrogen for conversion into green ammonia at an estimated capital cost of about N$69 billion (US$4,4 billion).
Von Oertzen, who is a doctor in high-energy nuclear physics, says despite Namibia wanting to create climate-neutral and development opportunities, the country needs to avoid making its resources available. He made these remarks in a paper titled ‘Issues, Challenges and Opportunities to Develop Green Hydrogen in Namibia 2021’.
“Local green hydrogen ventures must allow Namibia to meet its own development aspirations too. Engaging others to drive local development, rather than setting our own agenda, direction and pace of development, is a cardinal risk,” Von Oertzen says in the paper.
He says Namibia produces what it does not need, while procuring what it requires, hence producing green hydrogen in the absence of a local market could be seen as doing more of the same.
“This, however, would be too one-sided a view. Indeed, developing Namibia’s renewable energy riches can, if done with circumspection, create a growth engine to power national development in all its facets,” he says. LOCAL DEMAND FOR HYDROGEN Von Oertzen says in 2021, local requirements for hydrogen for commercial and industrial use are non-existent.
“While potential exists, it has not been developed as alternatives to hydrogen remain plentiful, and the delivery and use of hydrogen necessitates infrastructure that does not exist. A demand for industrial uses of hydrogen could, in time, be developed, provided that the cost to switch fuels is justifiable,” he says.
RECOMMENDATIONS It has been recommended that the government develops a national hydrogen policy, which is informed by southern African and international trends.
The policy should focus on the creation of transparent institutional, governance and regulatory provisions to guide the further development of green hydrogen initiatives and their synchronisation with the multitude of Namibia’s other development needs.
Moreover, Von Oertzen says, a national hydrogen strategy and action plan should also be developed in tandem with the above-mentioned policy. This is to map out realistic goals and establish objectives to guide the country’s actions relating to green hydrogen developments.
He also recommends that the government undertakes a cost-benefit assessment on the main approaches and actions identified in the above-mentioned strategy.
“This is to quantify the implications of Namibia’s entry into green hydrogen initiatives, including a macro- and microeconomic assessment of the overall risks, gains and losses towards the establishment of local green hydrogen capacities,” Von Oertzen says.
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