France’s HDF Energy is developing several projects in Africa with a focus on providing stable electricity supplies via hydrogen to domestic markets.

HDF has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zimbabwe’s state-owned ZETDC to construct a multi-megawatt green hydrogen power plant, dubbed a ‘Renewstable’ development, that will store energy produced by a solar farm as hydrogen to provide dispatchable power to the grid. The company expects to sign a formal power-purchase agreement in 18 months.

HDF last year secured 2,000 hectares of land leases in former coal regions in South Africa to develop its green hydrogen power plants. It has also signed MoUs with Uganda’s energy ministry and the Kinshasa province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The developer is also cooperating with the European Investment Bank to progress a green hydrogen power plant project in Namibia.

“This really represents a redistribution of opportunities” Lecomte, HDF

“The Namibian project is our most advanced project in the region,” says Nicolas Lecomte, director for southern and east Africa at HDF, in an interview with Hydrogen Economist.

“We have capacity to start building it at end of this year, which will be the first large-scale green hydrogen project in Africa,” he adds, noting that the $200mn project will have capacity to produce 30MW of power during peak demand in the day and evening and 6MW at night. While the company has not reached FID—although financial close is “feasible before the end of the year”—Lecomte notes the project is well on track.

“From an operational point of view, in terms of project development, land [and] permits, the progress is great. This is also a project that the president of Namibia has announced to the world during his speech at the UN General Assembly in September last year,” he says. He adds that the country has “great ambition for green hydrogen—rightfully, as it has some of the best resources in the world to produce it” as well as relative political and economic stability.

Similarly, Lecomte estimates the company will take FID on the Zimbabwe project, which is estimated to cost $260mn to develop, in 2024–25. “We have done pre-feasibility studies, and it is a solid candidate for success,” he says.

The South African project development pipeline is estimated at $3bn. “It will take 2–3 years to start construction of first phases,” he says, noting the sites are part of “a giant cluster of green energy projects” promoted by the government as part of a solution to the deepening energy crisis.

South Africa’s energy is primarily generated via ageing coal-fired power plants, with breakdowns prompting nationwide blackouts. However, the transition to renewables is unlikely to alleviate grid stability owing to intermittent generation.

“Renewables create fluctuations on the grid. In Africa, this might create more power cuts, whereas our solution brings more grid stability,” Lecomte says.

He adds that HDF’s Renewstable plants are “a domestic project, where we address an existing market of electricity”, and thus represent “shorter term” developments that can act as a “stepping stone to materialise hydrogen projects with a higher grade of complexity, focused on exports”.

While the power plants have a high initial investment, they have “limited opex… your fuel is free, since the primary source of power is the sun or wind”, says Lecomte.

“A diesel generator is quite affordable, but every litre you burn costs a lot and emits carbon. Our technology is very different, as once you install the power plant, you do not have a fuel you need to bring or buy, which has some benefits, such as security of supply,” he adds, noting that hydrogen allows countries to “reduce exposure to market prices, reduce imports for countries without oil and gas reserves, and strengthen [their] commercial balance and ultimately their currency”.

“This really represents a redistribution of opportunities—and Africa is quite blessed in that redistribution,” Lecomte says.

The Renewstable power plants have “a closed cycle for water, so they do not consume a lot of water in total”, he adds, noting that there is particular interest in Uganda for leveraging resources from Lake Victoria to produce hydrogen fuel.

He says community engagement is “a key development process that needs to be addressed properly”. “We should not assume what they need and should engage with community leaders—not as a teaching exercise, but to establish the right plan for the community,” he says, noting that these plans can vary based on local needs and concerns.

“With our projects, we look to maximise impact by developing skills with the local workforce,” he says, adding that the company establishes training centres and demonstrators near sites for community access.

Homegrown fertilisers

Australia’s Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) has signed an investment support and implementation agreement with the government of Kenya, building on a framework deal to develop green hydrogen and ammonia capacity signed during Cop27. FFI plans to build a 300MW green ammonia and fertiliser facility in Naivasha near the Olkaria a geothermal field, as well as supplying green electricity to Kenya’s grid.

FFI chairman Andrew Forrest notes this project could help Kenya to become a “leader in the production of fertiliser made using green ammonia” and that the government is “providing Kenya additional energy security that steps beyond the use of fossil fuels, most importantly stopping the reliance on Russian imported fertiliser”.

The country has seen a sharp drop in imports since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine due to rising prices, leading to shortages that have had a knock-on effect on crop prices.

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Author: Polly Martin