In the presence of Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba, King Philippe inaugurated the first green hydrogen station in Namibia. The station was built by the Antwerp-based Belgian group. Belgium and Namibia will also be cooperating on a future boat, which will be the first of its kind in Africa.

The event took place at Cleanergy Solutions Namibia, a joint venture between CMB.TECH and the Ohlthaver & List (O&L) group. At its site in Walvis Bay in Namibia, the company welcomed the Belgian King and the Namibian President. The two men also carried out the first refuelling of a bi-fuel truck that had been transported by ferry from Belgium. The station, which will be fully operational in the last quarter of the year, will be used to refuel lorries, as well as port vehicles, locomotives and small boats.

A green hydrogen plant

The site also includes a plant for green hydrogen production, derived from solar energy. The hydrogen production plant is the first phase of a five-year plan with several projects at different locations, including ammonia bunkering, pipelines and large-scale production of hydrogen and ammonia. In fact, Namibia has strong ambitions in hydrogen and intends to become a major player in Africa.

“Industries that are difficult to reduce, such as maritime industries, ports and mining, cannot switch to electricity or batteries. Instead of electrons, they need molecules,” explained Alexander Savery, CMB.TECH CEO. He then added: “In addition, 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.”

A first hydrogen ship in Africa

In addition, Cleanergy, in collaboration with CMB.TECH and the ports of Antwerp-Bruges and Namport (Namibia), will launch the first hydrogen-powered ship in Africa. Building on the successful collaboration between CMB.TECH and Port of Antwerp, which launched the Hydrotug and the world’s first multimodal hydrogen refuelling station, the focus is now on developing a multifunctional port utility vessel (MPHUV) powered by dual-fuel hydrogen engines.

Read the press release.

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Article written by Laurent Meillaud and translated by Mariem Ben Tili