- The green hydrogen-powered iron plant will generate 15,000 tonnes of iron annually using renewable energy sources.
- Steel manufacturing accounts for around one-eighth of worldwide CO2 emissions and strongly contributes to climate change.
Namibia has commenced work on its first decarbonised green hydrogen-powered iron plant. According to the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), work on the continent’s first decarbonised iron plant began on Monday. One of the most polluting sectors of the global economy is steelmaking, which is attempting to switch from coal-fired facilities to decarbonised iron.
The NIPDB released a statement stating that the Oshivela project in western Namibia has the support of the German federal government, which has contributed 13 million euros. The project will generate 15,000 tonnes of iron annually using renewable energy sources without carbon emissions. Also, the project, scheduled to start producing green iron in the fourth quarter of 2024, aims to reach a yearly production capacity of one million metric tons.
The traditional production of iron is through a reduction in blast furnaces by adding coke from hard coal, which emits much CO2. Steel manufacturing today accounts for around one-eighth of worldwide CO2 emissions and strongly contributes to climate change. A direct reduction plant does not utilise coke as a reducing agent and instead employs natural gas or hydrogen.
The Economy and Climate Action Minister, Robert Habeck, noted, “Namibia has ideal conditions for producing green hydrogen with the help of wind and solar energy. Since Namibia has large iron ore deposits, green hydrogen can be used to produce green iron cost-effectively near the mining sites – an important preliminary product also for the decarbonisation of steel production in Germany.”