South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa has proposed a possible hydrogen partnership with Namibia, as the neighboring country stands ready to be a major exporter of green hydrogen.
The South Africa government has proposed to set up Boegoebaai hydrogen power project in the Northern Cape’s Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
“It was wonderful, two days ago, when I sat down with President Hage Geingob, of Namibia, and we started talking about this type of project and how this project, in Boegoebaai, is going to bring the two countries together – to get both countries to approach this type of project on a joint basis, so that we work together all developing a project that is going to have enormous industrial benefits for both South Africa and Namibia,” Ramaphosa said.
He said Namibia’s on-going plans to develop its own green-hydrogen hub on the other side of the border to Boegoebaai, could “bring the two countries together.”
This comes as Namibia’s hydrogen-focused Southern Corridor Development Initiative is ahead of the one proposed for Boegoebaai, with its Green Hydrogen Request for Proposals (RFP) bid process having already closed.
Namibia could have capacity to produce over 6400 megawatts of power in the next ten years, based on proposals submitted.
What is the Boegoebaai hydrogen power project
Not much information is available on details of the project except that the Boegoebaai green hydrogen development has been designated a Strategic Integrated Project (SIP) in the South African National Development Plan and is located in the Namakwa Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
Petrochemical giant, Sasol has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Northern Cape Development Agency (NCEDA) to lead the feasibility study to explore the potential of Boegoebaai as an export hub for green hydrogen and ammonia. The study, which is expected to take around two years, will determine the next development step.
The Boegoebaai project is one of several green hydrogen, ammonia and power-to-X (P2X) opportunities, which Sasol is assessing as part of the new strategy announced at its recent capital markets day.-The Brief/Times
