MechChem Africa September-October 2022

Green hydrogen potential for Namibia: the best in the world The CEO of ThyssenKrupp Uhde SSA, Rajend Govender, speaks at the Namibian Green Hydrogen Conference hosted by: The Economic Association of Namibia (EAP); Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB); and the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

consumption–andwithina smaller footprint,” Govender adds. The global GH2 demand as published by IRENA is currently 150-million t/a with a forecasted 800-mi l l ion t/a by 2050. The ThyssenKrupp Steel Mill in Duisburg Germany, plans to introduce green hydro gen into blast furnaces to produce green steel. The annual demand for GH2 per blast furnace starts at approx. 20 000 t/a and is expected to increase to 720 000 t/a by 2050. ThyssenKrupp and companies across Europe are looking at the likes of Namibia for this GH2, simply due to landing costs and the ability to meet sustainable production rates. The transport of GH2 to Europe poses a huge challenge. Gaseous hydrogen occupies large volumes and must therefore be com pressed. Containment at thesehighpressures requires the use of special materials and ves sels to limit hydrogen induced cracking, which renders this unfeasible. While hydrogen can be transported as a liquid and converted to gas at the point of storage or use, this requires the energy intensive liquefaction process, which itself is not economically feasible. Focus then shifts tohydrogen carriers, including LiquidOrganic Hydrogen Carrier (LOHC) development, which remains in its infancy. GreenAmmonia is considered as themost feasible medium to carry hydrogen across large distances. The technology and logistics infrastructure iswidelyavailableandhasbeen in operation for decades, licensed by the likes of ThyssenKrupp. The benefit for the conversion of GH2 to GNH3 is immediate for theAfrican continent. Green ammonia is used for the production of fertiliser products such as urea and am monium nitrate, thereby helping to decar bonise the food value chain. Recent global conflicts and the disruption of the fertiliser supplyworldwide is highlighting the need for self-sufficiency. This can be addressed by regionally dis tributedproductionof green ammonia across Africa using currently-available modular green ammonia production plants. Ammonia is also attracting attention as a sustainable alternative fuel. Specialised internal combustion engines are currently being developed. A recent survey of shipping

CEO of ThyssenKrupp Uhde SSA, Rajend Govender, speaking at the Namibian Green Hydrogen Conference.

“A s a regional subsidiary of Thys senKrupp AG, internationally recognised for engineering, procurement, construction and service, ThyssenKrupp Uhde has been servicing the Sub-Saharan African region since 1959,” begins Rajend Govender, CEO of ThyssenKrupp Uhde SSA. “Our historic primary focus included refinery, petrochemical, specialty and fine chemicals technologies within each of these sectors. As a proudly environmentally conscious company, however, our focus has grown. And we are now the proud owner of a large portfolio of chemical process tech nologies, including those for the production of greenhydrogen, green ammonia and green methanol,” he continues. Members of the public, communities and, most importantly, youngpeopleare calling for a greener andmore sustainable planet, which is increasing pressure tophase out fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emitting industries. “We are also facedwith thedilemmaof highunem ployment, a lackof industrialisationandmany other socio-economic issues, so a deliberate approach to this transition will be essential,” he points out. He says that the take up of

en by three factors: •

Governmentsworldwideprioritisingnet zero emissions. The plummeting cost of renewable power,which is improving theattractive ness of hydrogen production. Ongoing innovation reducing the cost of electrolysers. Namibia’s favourable solar and wind re sources, coupledwith vast open spaces, offer the long-term potential to produce green hydrogen at prices significantly lower than anywhere else in the world. In general, an energy mix of two thirds wind and one third solar improves project feasibility. Furthermore, continental cooperation through the Africa Green Hydrogen Alliance and Namibia’s stable political environment, publicandprivatesector support enhances its position as a potential leader in global green hydrogen production. A r e c e n t s t u d y p e r f o r me d b y ThyssenKruppUhdeestimates the total land ing cost of GH2 exported from Namibia into Europe to be as low as US$2.9/kg based on a production cost of $1.5/kg. This is 10% lower than the closest competitor, Saudi Arabia. The production of hydrogen via elec trolysis is well proven. ThyssenKrupp Uhde has been producing hydrogen for more than 50 years via its Chlor-Alkali electrolysis technology, which has been adapted to electrolyse water to produce green GH2 and has a technology readiness level (TRL) 9. This means the technology is considered to be ‘flight proven’ – “and our • •

hydrogen technologies, although well known, has been slow, but this is rap idly changing, driv

7 th Generation electrolyser will offer improved GH2 production performance at further reduced power

The ThyssenKrupp Nucera large scale 20 MW alkaline water electrolysis module.

4 ¦ MechChem Africa • September-October 2022