Green hydrogen everywhere
Conferences, progress and opportunities abound
Augetto Graig
The Africa Green Hydrogen Summit kicks off in Cape Town, South Africa on Thursday 12 June. This year’s theme is “Unlocking European Union Investments in Africa’s Green Hydrogen Value Chains”. High-level speakers are expected to explore opportunities and challenges, according to the European Union.
A similar event is scheduled for Windhoek later this year from September 9 to 11, when the Global African Hydrogen Summit comes to Namibia. The September summit is being organised by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) supported by the Namibia Green Hydrogen Council and the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme.Themed “Ambition in Action: Fuelling Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution”, the three-day summit is expected to convene heads of state, ministers, business leaders, project developers, investors, technologists and end-users from across Africa and around the globe.
‘Major milestone’
Meanwhile, the Namibia-German Green Hydrogen Research and Development Conference took place in Windhoek last week. According to the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL), the conference marked a major milestone in showcasing progress on Namibia’s leading green hydrogen research project: The Daures Green Hydrogen Village, which is Africa’s first integrated green hydrogen village.
Jointly organised by the Namibia Green Hydrogen Research Institute (NGHRI) and the University of Namibia (UNAM) in collaboration with SASSCAL and the Institute of Energy Economics and Rational Energy Use at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, the conference centred around 15 research presentations on Daures.
Topics included life-cycle assessments of green hydrogen production, water extraction and treatment from brine sources, green ammonia-based fertilisers and soil fertility in desert agriculture, techno-economic modelling and national energy system pathways, hydrogen infrastructure materials and corrosion-resistant coatings, environmental compliance, biodiversity monitoring and conservation, gender inclusion and community perceptions, and also skills localisation and workforce readiness.
Site visit
Head of the Research Department of System Analysis and Renewable Energy at the University of Stuttgart, Ludger Eltrop, who attended the successful workshop, said he enjoyed an insightful site visit to the Daures Green Hydrogen Village.
“The progress is visible anytime I am there. The Daures team around Jerome Namaseb is doing a great job,” he said.
Eltrop observed that the GH2 and ammonia facility at Daures is nearing completion and that vegetable production has been in operation for some time.
“The well-equipped research laboratory is ready for students and researchers,” he added.
However, Daures is still in search of an off-taker for its green hydrogen - “a decisive piece in this puzzle to become commercially viable. But altogether a very successful approach looking at an integration of various components, also beyond green hydrogen production,” he said.
Eltrop says he is committed to supporting the project and to see its ultimate success.
Hyphen
Meanwhile, the Hyphen Green Hydrogen project, the government’s chosen development aimed at establishing a giant green hydrogen industry in southern Namibia, was present at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2025. Hyphen’s Tobias Bischof-Niemz and Toni Beukes participated in a round-table discussion there, sharing insights and perspectives on preparing the Namibian workforce for the ‘green economy.’
They were also able to update industry experts from around the world on the progress of Hyphen’s mega-project in Namibia.
Daures has advertised an opening for a solar plant technician while Belgium’s CMB.TECH - partners in O&L’s Cleanergy green hydrogen production plant - is looking for engineering specialists in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, automation and control systems engineering, as well as chemical engineering and industrial engineering. Applications can be sent to [email protected] with the reference Engineering Specialists.
The Africa Green Hydrogen Summit kicks off in Cape Town, South Africa on Thursday 12 June. This year’s theme is “Unlocking European Union Investments in Africa’s Green Hydrogen Value Chains”. High-level speakers are expected to explore opportunities and challenges, according to the European Union.
A similar event is scheduled for Windhoek later this year from September 9 to 11, when the Global African Hydrogen Summit comes to Namibia. The September summit is being organised by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) supported by the Namibia Green Hydrogen Council and the Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme.Themed “Ambition in Action: Fuelling Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution”, the three-day summit is expected to convene heads of state, ministers, business leaders, project developers, investors, technologists and end-users from across Africa and around the globe.
‘Major milestone’
Meanwhile, the Namibia-German Green Hydrogen Research and Development Conference took place in Windhoek last week. According to the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASSCAL), the conference marked a major milestone in showcasing progress on Namibia’s leading green hydrogen research project: The Daures Green Hydrogen Village, which is Africa’s first integrated green hydrogen village.
Jointly organised by the Namibia Green Hydrogen Research Institute (NGHRI) and the University of Namibia (UNAM) in collaboration with SASSCAL and the Institute of Energy Economics and Rational Energy Use at the University of Stuttgart in Germany, the conference centred around 15 research presentations on Daures.
Topics included life-cycle assessments of green hydrogen production, water extraction and treatment from brine sources, green ammonia-based fertilisers and soil fertility in desert agriculture, techno-economic modelling and national energy system pathways, hydrogen infrastructure materials and corrosion-resistant coatings, environmental compliance, biodiversity monitoring and conservation, gender inclusion and community perceptions, and also skills localisation and workforce readiness.
Site visit
Head of the Research Department of System Analysis and Renewable Energy at the University of Stuttgart, Ludger Eltrop, who attended the successful workshop, said he enjoyed an insightful site visit to the Daures Green Hydrogen Village.
“The progress is visible anytime I am there. The Daures team around Jerome Namaseb is doing a great job,” he said.
Eltrop observed that the GH2 and ammonia facility at Daures is nearing completion and that vegetable production has been in operation for some time.
“The well-equipped research laboratory is ready for students and researchers,” he added.
However, Daures is still in search of an off-taker for its green hydrogen - “a decisive piece in this puzzle to become commercially viable. But altogether a very successful approach looking at an integration of various components, also beyond green hydrogen production,” he said.
Eltrop says he is committed to supporting the project and to see its ultimate success.
Hyphen
Meanwhile, the Hyphen Green Hydrogen project, the government’s chosen development aimed at establishing a giant green hydrogen industry in southern Namibia, was present at the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2025. Hyphen’s Tobias Bischof-Niemz and Toni Beukes participated in a round-table discussion there, sharing insights and perspectives on preparing the Namibian workforce for the ‘green economy.’
They were also able to update industry experts from around the world on the progress of Hyphen’s mega-project in Namibia.
Daures has advertised an opening for a solar plant technician while Belgium’s CMB.TECH - partners in O&L’s Cleanergy green hydrogen production plant - is looking for engineering specialists in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, automation and control systems engineering, as well as chemical engineering and industrial engineering. Applications can be sent to [email protected] with the reference Engineering Specialists.
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