New hydrogen and fuel cell technology for mini-grid in the Ghanian port town of Tema
New hydrogen and fuel cell components of a mini-grid have begun operation on the Don Bosco Educational Campus in the Ghanian port town of Tema. The expansion of the grid is part of the GH2GH project funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Protection, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) through the Export Initiative Environmental Protection (EXI) funding programme. The aim of the project is to find out how green hydrogen can be used in decentralised energy supply in Sub-Saharan Africa. The project consortium combines research and industry and consists of Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Green Power Brains, SFC Energy AG and the local partner, Don Bosco Educational Campus, supported by technology supplier Ostermeier Hydrogen Solutions. The project itself is supported by ZUG gGmbH as project manager and is technically supervised by NOW GmbH.
Innovative combination of solar energy and hydrogen technology
An existing local mini-grid already enabled those at the Don Bosco Educational Campus to generate electricity from solar energy. In 2021, the EXI predecessor project, MoNaL, built an intelligent energy management system into the grid that more efficiently aligns electricity generation and consumption. With the new expansion of the grid, which includes a hydrogen electrolyser, storage solutions and a fuel cell, the existing generating capacities for solar electricity can now be better utilised. This is because converting energy from electricity into hydrogen makes storage possible, regardless of time of day or seasons. The stored hydrogen can be converted back to electricity in the fuel cell as required, which allows the educational campus to be reliably supplied with energy. The project therefore enables the partners to optimally combine all existing resources and further develop their energy management system. In addition, life cycle analyses of individual components can be conducted that form the basis for sustainable energy storage and use.
Nilgün Parker, Head of Division for Sustainable Financial Policy, Environment-Related Promotion of Foreign Trade and Investment, BMUV: “With the GH2GH EXI project, we are knowledge-building on the local level in two ways. Sustainable electricity from the mini-grid facilitates the daily operation of the educational campus. In addition, local specialists and the project partners learn and expand their expertise from the installed system. In this way, we are creating real prospects for the future – with technologies that are made in Germany.”
In addition to GH2GH, the BMUV is funding another project in Ghana on decentralised energy supply using green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. The ‘AHK Ghana H2’ project is being carried out by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK Ghana). Its main objective is to create suitable regulatory framework conditions by networking local actors and to support specific examples of the use of these technologies.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, decentralised energy systems offer significant potential if they combine renewable energy sources, storage technologies and intelligent energy management. On the one hand, they enable reliable energy supply in areas where power supply is not extensively developed or is vulnerable to power cuts. On the other hand, already-existing generation capacities for solar energy, for example, can also be better exploited by integrating hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. With an electrification rate of 85.1 per cent in 2022, Ghana is a pioneer in West Africa. However, like many other countries in the region, it has a rising population growth and a growing energy demand. In addition, the region is already suffering the impact of climate change, for example in the form of drought or delay in rainy seasons. This endangers power supply, particularly in regions where energy supply depends on hydropower.
About EXI
Since 2016, the BMUV has supported German GreenTech SMEs in disseminating innovative environmental technologies ‘Made in Germany’ through its funding programme, EXI. The goal is to create optimised environmental conditions for sustainable development and better environmental and living conditions in the target countries. By supporting appropriate infrastructure, the EXI projects contribute to implementing green public services and environmentally-friendly services globally. NOW GmbH is responsible for EXI’s focus on green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies in decentralised energy supply since 2021. As the EXI project management organisation, Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) gGmbH (Future – Environment – Society) has supported the Federal Environment Ministry in carrying out its tasks since 2022. More information on EXI can be found here.
About NOW GmbH
Since 2008, NOW GmbH has been supporting the federal government’s targets in its climate and industrial policy. The tasks of the federally-owned company include developing, monitoring and evaluating funding programmes about climate-neutral mobility and energy supply. NOW GmbH experts supervise projects in the areas of hydrogen, fuel cells, battery and renewable fuels. They reimagine mobility and fuels for cars, buses, trains, commercial vehicles, ships and airplanes, and support the establishment and further development of charging infrastructure and hydrogen refuelling stations for cars and trucks. More information on NOW can be found here.
Further information on the project
- Project description of the GH2GH project on the EXI website
- Press release of the project’s kick-off in March 2023
- Websites of project partners:
Image source: Hochschule Bochum