Hydrogen Ports, Namibia | Europe

Progress for Walvis Bay announced and a link up with the Belgian Port of Antwerp as the King of Belgium visited the country.

The Port of Antwerp Bruges plans to invest approximately $265 million for the development of a hydrogen and ammonia storage and export facility at Walvis Bay which will be jointly run with the Namibian Ports Authority.

They expect to develop the site within three to five years adjacent to the existing port both for the bunkering operations and the export to Europe.

“The port of Walvis Bay will also be in a unique position in Africa: our project will enable them to offer low-carbon logistics supply chains to their customers. This will pave the way for attracting additional logistics flows and investors,” said Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB.TECH.

They look to leverage the experience of developing Hydrotug, the world’s first hydrogen-fuelled tug supported by a fuelling operation in Antwerp to develop Africa’s first hydrogen-powered vessel.

Ports stand at the forefront of the Energy Transition and here, in no order, are some of the developments being tracked ranging from Canada to Namibia.

This partnership will see Namibia playing a crucial role in the global energy transition, with a pioneering position in renewable energy, natural resources and a strategic geographical position.

Namibia’s green industrialisation agenda is looking to mobilize fit-for-purpose blended financing, and matching that with unparalleled endowments in renewable energy potential and the requisite policy commitments, that provide a fertile foundation for sustainable development.

Namibia has high ambitions to harness the country’s natural resources into a hub of green energy production, and as such, a catalyst for its green industrialization. Green hydrogen is considered one of the main enablers of the energy transition, as a source to decarbonize hard to abate sectors.

There is however still plenty of uncertainty in the market regarding demand, cost, the high capex and the coordination of the supply chain. Things have come a long way in the last two years, here’s an item I shared with you two years ago;

Hydrogen Namibia