As Europe struggles to decarbonize its economy and wean itself off Russian oil and gas, one of the world’s sunniest and most arid nations is pitching itself to the continent as an answer to its problems.
A delegation from sub-Saharan Africa’s driest country has been touring Europe to tout their nation as a potential powerhouse of clean energy.
They say Namibia can produce so much solar power it is soon to be self-sufficient in electricity — and, by the end of the decade, could become an exporter of so-called “green hydrogen.”
“We came to Europe saying we have this amazing sun,” said James Mnyupe, economic adviser to the Namibian presidency.
He was in Rotterdam earlier this month for the World Hydrogen Summit trade fair, and on Wednesday was making a pitch in Paris ahead of a trip to Davos.
A huge, chiefly desert country in southwestern Africa, Namibia is perfect for erecting gigantic solar farms, whose power can be used to help make hydrogen, which in turn can be used for fuel or converted into ammonia to make fertilizer.
Producing hydrogen entails splitting water into its component parts of hydrogen and oxygen, using an energy-gobbling technique called electrolysis.
Namibia says it is in a unique position to make the process clean.
Boasting a vast coastline on the South Atlantic, it would use sea water that is desalinated and then electrolyzed using clean renewables.
The hydrogen would be piped to a terminal and then exported, “to Rotterdam, Germany or South Africa,” as well as used at home, Mnyupe said.
The EU plans to produce 10 million tonnes of green hydrogen from its own resources by 2030, but it is also counting on 10 million tonnes of imports.
“We understand we cannot produce all this hydrogen in Europe domestically — it’s impossible... That’s why the prime partner is Africa,” said Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, secretary-general of the European trade association Hydrogen Europe.
The Europe-Namibia energy connection took an important step forward in November last year. Namibia selected Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a joint venture between German renewables group Enertrag and investment vehicle Nicholas Holdings as its preferred bidder for a solar farm and green hydrogen project in Tsau Khaeb in the southwest of the country.
If all goes according to schedule, the first phase of electricity production would become operational from 2026. At full peak, the site could generate 300,000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually.
Yet the investment at Tsau Khaeb also gives an idea of the funds that Namibia needs to lure if it hopes to become a hydrogen giant.
Hyphen on its Web site puts the overall commitment at US$9.4 billion.
That figure compares with Namibia’s annual GDP of US$10.7 billion, World Bank data showed.
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV yesterday said that it has reached an agreement to acquire a subsidiary brewery of Taiwan’s Sanyo Whisbih Group (三洋維士比集團). Heineken is to assume majority ownership and management rights of the Long Chuan Zuan Co (龍泉鑽興業) brewery in Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔), the Dutch company said. It would become the first multinational brewing company to operate brewery in Taiwan once the acquisition is completed. The deal has been approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission, but details of the financial transaction cannot be disclosed at this time, as terms of the settlement have not been completed,
Had Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck hopped on an electric scooter rather than a Vespa in the classic film Roman Holiday, their spin around the Eternal City might have ended in tears. The number of crashes and near-misses involving the two-wheelers has prompted Rome authorities to impose some order on a booming rental market that began two years ago. The havoc came to a head earlier this month when two US tourists attempted a night-time drive down the Spanish Steps, causing more than 25,000 euros (US$26,392) worth of damage to the 18th-century monument. Caught on security footage, the couple in their late 20s
LOOK WHO OWES: China’s exposure to Taiwanese banks was the second-largest, with Luxembourg third, followed by Hong Kong and Japan, the central bank said The US remained the largest debtor country to Taiwan’s banking sector for a 27th consecutive quarter in the first quarter of this year, with its exposure rising 8.3 percent from a quarter earlier on the back of an increase in US bonds, the central bank said on Friday. Data compiled by the central bank showed that outstanding international claims by Taiwanese banks on a direct risk basis to the US stood at US$125.38 billion as of the end of March. Department of Financial Inspection deputy head Pan Ya-hui (潘雅慧) said that the US Federal Reserve’s launch of a rate hike cycle in
GREEN CITY: The company is set to invest US$8 billion to make electric vehicles and batteries for a new city that would rely entirely on renewable energy sources Indonesia said that Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is considering investing in the country’s new capital city, a move that would bolster the US$34 billion construction project. Hon Hai, which is known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), is looking at setting up an electric bus system and an Internet of Things network at Nusantara, as Indonesia’s new capital is to be called, Indonesian Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia said in a statement yesterday. Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Saturday to discuss the company’s plan to invest US$8 billion to build a manufacturing plant
RSS