Energy supplier Africa: “The population has to benefit”

Frankfurt a. M., 28/04/2023: Experts discussed at the “Development Forum” what a fair energy partnership with African countries could look like in the production of green hydrogen and what opportunities this offers the countries.

Stefan Liebing, CEO of Conjuncta, a Hamburg-based project developer in the energy, infrastructure, and chemical sectors, believes that Lüderitz in Namibia could become the “new Dubai” by offering itself as one of the centers for the new energy industry. Large solar and wind farms are planned in the area, and the cheap green electricity produced there will be used to produce green hydrogen and its conversion products such as ammonia, which will then be exported to Europe by tankers. Liebing predicts that the next “green OPEC” could emerge here. However, some critics have voiced concern that the local population must be involved in the development to prevent possible negative impacts. Bärbel Höhn, former “Energy Commissioner for Africa” of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development in Germany, warns that local people should benefit from the mega-project through job creation and training opportunities. Africa Greentec, a social enterprise founded in Hainburg, Germany in 2016, has presented a sustainable model for the decentralization of energy supply, which could create value-added products, and benefit people in remote regions in sub-Saharan Africa.

Full article: https://www.fr.de/wirtschaft/die-bevoelkerung-muss-etwas-davon-haben-afrika-wasserstoff-92242965.html