Germany's DSE Green Technologies consortium plans to establish electrolyser production capacity of 30 GW/yr in Namibia by 2030, with an initial investment of $2.5bn to be finalised in early December.
DSE will sign "final contracts" with the government for investment of $2.5bn into production of green hydrogen equipment on 4 December, the consortium's executive committee member Thomas Wu said today at the Cop 27 UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
The consortium comprises 18 companies, including engineering firm Bosch that will provide technology for the electrolyser stacks. DSE intends to produce the first units in Namibia next year, with electrolyser production capacity of 5 GW/yr to be reached by 2025-26, the consortium's director Bertram Lohmuller told Argus today. Capacity is to be then ramped up to 30 GW/yr by the end of this decade, he said.
If realised, this could make DSE one of the world's largest electrolyser manufacturers. Few producers have announced targets for as far out as 2030 until now, but Belgium's John Cockerill — the market leader in electrolyser sales last year — said recently that it aims for global manufacturing capacity of around 18 GW/yr by 2030. John Cockerill has warned that many manufacturers could fall short of their targets, increasing the risk of a potential electrolyser shortage when demand from renewable hydrogen projects ramps up.
DSE hopes to build on some of its partners' experience in building assembly lines for the automotive sectors to meet its ambitious goals. This could allow the consortium to achieve large-scale industrial production of electrolysers and set it apart from other firms competing in the space, Wu said today.
It plans to focus on proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyser technology, but will also manufacture alkaline electrolysers, Lohmuller told Argus.
Besides electrolyser production, DSE aims to manufacture other components of the green hydrogen production supply chain locally. This entails production of solar panels, with the entire value chain — from initial mining to final production — to be located in Africa. The consortium is planning to build a 20 GW/yr solar panel production facility in Namibia, Wu said, with the aim to outcompete panels manufactured elsewhere, including China, in terms of efficiency. Another technology DSE is developing locally is for direct air capture of CO2.
DSE will eventually also look to establish green hydrogen production products, although this will only be a second step after the local supply chains and production facilities have been set up, Lohmuller said. Besides Namibia, the consortium has identified Mauritania, Egypt, Oman and western Australia as key regions for large-scale hydrogen projects, Wu said. It has taken into account considerations around renewable power generation capacity, and political stability and security in this assessment, Wu said. He said the locally manufactured solar panels and electrolysers could allow DSE to produce green hydrogen in Namibia for less than $2/kg "already today".
