Quality infrastructure for sustainable hydrogen solutions in Namibia

¹ Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
² Namibian Standards Institution (NSI), Department of Metrology, Windhoek, Namibia

^* Corresponding author: helga.hansen@ptb.de

Published online: 7 April 2025

Abstract

To ensure a sustainable and economically sound hydrogen supply, the ramp-up of hydrogen production in regions with large incident solar radiation is critically needed. Plans of the Republic of Namibia to set up a new infrastructure from scratch aiming at the export of ammonia as hydrogen carrier co-address questions with respect to the associated quality infrastructure (QI). Here, a regulatory framework is envisaged to define safety requirements and quality objectives for hydrogen generation, operating conditions of production facilities, and subsequent transportation. Standardization should secure access to the current level of technology and cover dynamic technological developments at the national and international level. New capacities will be required for services in metrology and accreditation, testing, certification, inspection and for monitoring the environmental impact. We present an overview of the essential components of a QI cooperation aimed at sustainable hydrogen production and export with project partner countries Namibia and Germany providing a case study. This article tackles technical requirements in the context of QI and showcases the cooperation between Namibia and Germany demonstrating how metrology supports both countries achieving their technical and economic goals.