H2Scale

The initial situation

Ghana and other West African countries face the challenge of meeting growing energy demand while making their energy supply more climate-friendly. While electrification has advanced significantly in urban areas, ensuring a reliable power supply in remote, off-grid and weak-grid locations remains a major challenge.

Diesel generators, battery systems and bespoke stand-alone solutions are commonly used in these areas. These technologies entail high operating costs and generate local emissions. Some also depend on regular fuel deliveries. Green hydrogen and fuel cell technologies could offer an alternative. However, their use in decentralised energy supply in West Africa remains largely untested. Practical demonstration facilities and operational experience in areas such as system operation, maintenance and hydrogen logistics are lacking. Reliable performance and cost data are also scarce.

The approach

Building on the experience gained through the EXI project GH2GH, this project is further developing a mobile, containerised energy system based on green hydrogen. The so-called power-to-power system initially uses an electrolyser to convert renewable electricity into hydrogen. A fuel cell can subsequently convert the hydrogen back into electrical energy.

The system integrates all the components required for this process, from power supply and grid connection to electrolysis, gas treatment and hydrogen storage. Safety and control systems are also fully integrated.

The objectives and measures

The project aims to demonstrate how the mobile hydrogen-based energy system can be operated under the conditions prevailing in sub-Saharan Africa and to assess its potential for decentralised power supply.

During operation, the project team monitors the system's availability and efficiency, maintenance requirements, component degradation and overall costs. It also assesses the system's environmental impacts, focusing in particular on water and resource consumption, as well as opportunities for reusing or recovering components at the end of their service life.

Knowledge transfer is another key focus. In collaboration with German technology partners and local stakeholders, the project develops operational procedures and training programmes to provide the expertise required to operate and maintain the system. In doing so, the project trains local specialists and helps build long-term local operational and technical capacity.

The findings will inform recommendations for operators, policymakers and businesses. They are intended to lay the groundwork for further applications and scale-up, reduce market entry risks and prepare concrete follow-on projects for German environmental technologies in West Africa.