By Adolf Kaure.
The Daures Green Hydrogen Village Chief Executive, Jerome Namaseb said that the industrial production phase of the project is set to commence during June next year, when he spoke during a media site tour to the village.
The Daures Green Hydrogen Village was started through a grant from the German government worth N$220 Million for phase one of the project.
The project is executed on a phased approach with phases 2, 3 and 4 focusing on industrial level production for international consumption.
According to Namaseb, the construction for phase one is 66% complete, with future aspirations to produce Ammonia on the cards.
“Phase one is the pilot phase, which is used for research students from the University of Namibia and Germany’s University of Stuttgart,” he said.
He also said that 85% of ammonia in today’s global market is used for fertiliser. “Producing Ammonia is something that we are working to but at this present time it is not in construction.”
“It was not in the current funding that we received so we are in the process of sourcing [additional] funding, which will result in the production ammonia sulphate fertiliser.
“In the current pilot [phase] we could produce over 30% of the Namibian annual consumption of fertiliser,” said Namaseb.
EXPORTING TO INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Although, ammonia fertiliser is envisioned to be produced from the middle of phase 1 (industrial production phase) of the project, from June 2024 to 2027, it is during phase 2 that the fertiliser will be exported to international markets.
In addition to the estimated 100 tonnes of Ammonia that can be produced, the plant will also be geared to produce 18 tonnes of green hydrogen.
During Phase 2, 2028 to 2032, the intention is to export ammonia to SADC countries and to international markets.
The export target for Phase 3 is 700,000 tonnes of ammonia.
As Africa’s first Net Zero (carbon-free) village, the Daures Green Hydrogen Village consists of a solar panel field with a substation and electrolyser, training and laboratory facilities, accommodation for students, visitors and workers as well as a greenhouse, a nursery and seven boreholes that pump 70,000 litres of water daily.
Currently, 206 people are employed at the village, with the majority made up of residents of the Daures district. “I foresee in the completion of the project and once the permanent jobs start, we can see how our people are accommodated.
“Even in this phase we want the people to be trained. – We want skills transfer to take place so that they can start working throughout the project.”
“I will still be happy if I see that in the final phases of the project my people will still be accommodated the same way,” said the Chief of the Daure Daman, Gaob Zacharias Seibeb.
The project has also appointed 22 Micro, Small and Medium (MSM) enterprises through lifetime contracts with seven people who come from the Daures district.
Currently a Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) phase is being initiated which is required to reach Final Investor Decision (FID).
The Daures Green Hydrogen Village is a partnership between Enersense Namibia (90% shareholding) the Daure Daman Traditional Authority (5.5% shareholding) and the Tsiseb Conservancy (2.5% shareholding).
Employees of the Daures Green Hydrogen Village are currently constructing the project’s greenhouse facility. (Photograph by Adolf Kaure)
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