The Ohlthaver & List (O&L) Group and CMB.TECH have joined forces to build Namibia’s first green hydrogen production plant at a cost of N$270.7 million.
The plant, a demonstration hub for hydrogen applications, will be built in the Erongo region with construction starting this year and expected to be operational by the end of 2023.
Depending on the results of the demonstration plant, the companies plan a larger scale production plant in the second phase, possibly using ammonia as transport fuel.
A joint venture company, Cleanergy Namibia will develop green hydrogen production projects in the country, including leading the green hydrogen production plant and demonstration hub.
“At O&L, we are guided by our Purpose, ‘Creating a future, enhancing life’, and one of the biggest concerns of our time that will directly affect the quality of the future we create is climate change. The world is in a race to limit global warming and reach net-zero emissions by 2050, in accordance with the United Nations’ global roadmap, and one of the key shifts required to ensure a sustainable future includes the transition to clean energy solutions. While the move away from fossil fuels may take several paths, green hydrogen is one that shows tremendous potential in getting us there,” O&L Group Executive Chairman Sven Thieme said.
“Namibia is a growing hub when it comes to the generation of renewable energy, whether that be through solar, wind or hydroelectric power, and this is what makes our country optimally positioned to explore the generation of green hydrogen, or hydrogen that is generated using renewable electricity. 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. It is with these encouraging prospects that we have established Cleanergy Namibia, a company designed to explore green hydrogen generation through the country’s first green hydrogen demonstration plant.”
CMB.TECH Chief Executive Officer, Alexander Saverys said Namibia has the potential to produce green molecules (such as hydrogen and ammonia) on a large scale and at low cost.
“Green and affordable molecules are an essential part of the energy transition. With our announcement today, we hope to demonstrate that words can be turned into actions when it comes to green hydrogen projects! Cleanergy Namibia’s ambitions go beyond the initial production and demonstration plant. Building on the expertise that will be acquired during the construction of the hydrogen plant, Cleanergy will simultaneously develop a much larger green hydrogen and ammonia factory in Namibia. By starting the hydrogen production plant already in 2022, Cleanergy Namibia wants to demonstrate that green hydrogen projects are already a reality today,” he said.
James Mnyupe, Economic Advisor to the President and Green Hydrogen Commissioner welcomed the O&L, CMB.TECH partnership to build the country’s first green hydrogen production plant.
“Championing the manufacturing of Green hydrogen in Namibia is but one component of a holistic economic recovery plan, as articulated in HPPII, that will begin to unlock benefits for Namibians not in 5 to 10 years’ time, as some claim, but today as is clearly being demonstrated by Namibia’s own innovative entrepreneurs who are re-investing profits back into Namibia and into this sector! Right alongside much needed FDI from our friends from Belgium – Namibia is an attractive investment destination,” he said.
“Green Hydrogen is not a big dreamy project – it is an essential component of the global #energytransition which is well underway. A reality that the Government of the Republic of Namibia identified as a key opportunity for its people in Q1-2021.”
O&L is Namibia’s largest privately held group of companies with business interests in food production, fishing, beverages, farming, retail trade, information technology, property leasing and development, renewable power generation, marine engineering, steel retailing, advertising and the leisure and hospitality industry.
CMB.TECH is owned by CMB (Compagnie Maritime Belge), a diversified shipping and logistics group based in Antwerp, Belgium. The company builds, owns, operates & designs large marine and industrial applications that run on hydrogen and ammonia. CMB.TECH also offers hydrogen and ammonia fuel to its customers, either through own production or by sourcing it from third party producers.
