Isabel Bento 

WALVIS BAY – Cleanergy Solutions says the much-anticipated arrival of a multi-million dollar electrolyser in December will see the official commencement of the production of green hydrogen by February next year.

This was announced last Thursday by Ohlthaver & List Cleanergy Development Committee member Eike Krafft during a media tour of the plant in Walvis Bay. Cleanergy Solutions Namibia is a groundbreaking partnership between Ohlthaver & List Group and CMB.TECH, focused on green hydrogen production.

Krafft said the plant, although not producing hydrogen locally yet, has imported hydrogen that is used to test its equipment, the compressors and the plant’s storage capacity. Established in 2021, the project’s flagship facility includes a 10-hectare solar park with over
7 000 solar panels. He also announced plans to develop 2 000 hectares of land in Arandis for 1GW of solar energy generation, and 500MW of hydrogen production. This, he stressed, is because of weather challenges experienced in Walvis Bay.

“The location we are currently in is not the best option for solar, as it is close to the ocean. Sometimes we have fog and sandstones. For now, it works because we are not a commercial entity yet, but for the bigger project, we will go further inland to Arandis because Arandis has no fog and has very few sandstorms compared to Walvis Bay,” Krafft noted.

The facility, according to the Namibia Investment Promotion and development Board (NIPDB), is the first hydrogen production and refuelling station in Africa, with hydrogen used for dual fuel technology in trucks.

“The company aims to reduce carbon emissions, and contribute to the global efforts to combat climate change, aligning with Namibia’s green energy goals,” NIPDB spokesperson, Catherine Shipushu said.

-Nampa