Namibia close to harnessing green hydrogen potential – Geingob
APA-Windhoek Namibia is making progress in its efforts to harness hydrogen as a clean source of energy as country seeks to promote net-zero emissions over the next few years, President Hage Geingob said on Thursday. In his statement during the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Geingob said Namibia has made“ progress in…
APA-Windhoek (Namibia) Namibia is making progress in its efforts to harness hydrogen as a clean source of energy as country seeks to promote net-zero emissions over the next few years, President Hage Geingob said on Thursday.
In his statement during the general debate of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Geingob said Namibia has made “progress in incubating renewable energy assets in the form of green hydrogen and ammonia as part of its energy transition through green industrialization.”
“To this end, the country is at an advanced stage in the bid evaluation process for the development of several sites for the export of green hydrogen,” Geingob said.
Namibia last month sealed a deal with Germany under which Berlin would provide Windhoek €40 million to boost its green hydrogen production, in return for a future cheap supply of the gas.
To produce clean hydrogen, electricity is needed from a renewable source to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. The resulting hydrogen is carbon-free and can be used to decarbonise industries such as steelmaking and aviation that rely on fossil fuels.
Hydrogen is seen as a key energy source that will play a major role in helping countries become carbon neutral.
Namibia has massive wind and solar power potential, which makes the southwest African country a potential hotspot for cheap clean hydrogen production.
The cost of a kilogramme of clean hydrogen produced in the country is projected to be somewhere between €1.50 and €2.00, with exports foreseen to start before 2025.
Geingob noted that Namibia has decided to prioritise the development of green and blue economies, given the huge potential provided by its massive endowment of renewable resources such as solar, wind and the ocean.
“Furthermore, we are also well positioned through our recent membership to the High-Level Panel on Ocean Sustainability, to design and champion a sustainable “blue economy”, which will grow our economic base and create the much-needed jobs, while also tackling climate change.”
Hydrogen has become the latest faze in the global race towards net-zero emissions from energy sources, with a number of countries – most notably Colombia, India, Russia, United Kingdom and United States – recently unveiling national strategies to harness hydrogen as a source of clean energy.
