Port of Antwerp invests in hydrogen port Namibia
Way clear for investors
Port of Antwerp Bruge, together with the port authority of the Namibian city of Walvis Bay, will realize an export port for hydrogen and ammonia. The project involves an investment of 250 million euros, of which the port of Antwerp will account for 20 million. European money may also be released for this energy project, according to CEO Jacques Vandermeiren of the Antwerp port authority.
ivonne vermeulen
Send an email
May 6, 2024 11:25 am
Shipping company CMB Tech is already working on a Cleanery Green Hydrogen pilot project in Namport in which electricity from a solar park is converted into hydrogen. This is then converted into ammonia, which is easier to transport than hydrogen and can also be used as fuel for ships.
Investors
Alexander Saverys, CEO of CMB Tech, is convinced that this positions Namport in ‘a unique position in Africa and that it will pave the way to attract logistics flows and investors’. The plans for the export port are part of a five-year plan, the hydrogen and solar energy project of which CMB Tech is part.
The company has earmarked an investment of 3.2 billion euros for the realization over a period of five years. In addition to a 25,000-ton ammonia factory, this also involves ammonia bunkering, pipelines and large-scale hydrogen and ammonia production.
Desert
Into the plans Namibia include a hydrogen filling station and a production facility. The facility uses only solar energy, sourced from a solar farm in the Namibian desert for on-site production of green hydrogen and will be used for hydrogen-powered trucks, port equipment, rail applications and small ships. According to CMB, the plans also address ‘urgent infrastructure needs and strengthen the link between green molecules and maritime activities in the Port of Walvis Bay.’
The hydrogen filling station will be operational in the fourth quarter of this year and was visited last week by the Belgian King Philippe during his state visit to Namibia also visited the hydrogen project.
The Belgian-Dutch ports form an important link in the hydrogen transition. Knowing more? Come to the Belgian-Dutch Port Day on June 13, 2024 in Amsterdam.
