The Green Hydrogen project – the great opportunity for Namibia

Namibia is one of the few countries in the world with favourable conditions for the production and export of green hydrogen. Because of its abundant renewable energy resources and rising demand for green hydrogen, Namibia has emerged with an ambition to become Africa’s leading exporter of green hydrogen and green ammonia.

According to Mr. Gilbert Boois, WBCG’s Projects Manager, responsible for the implementation of the Namibia Logistics Hub project, the development of Green Hydrogen is a key activity of Namibia’s national development plans, such as the Harambee Prosperity Plan II, which will also lead to the realisation of Namibia’s ambition of being the preferred Logistics Hub for southern Africa. “Logistics is critical to green hydrogen for the mere purpose that the capacity of logistics hub is needed to support this initiative. The demand for logistics services will be larger if you have a big development project such as the envisaged national green hydrogen project,” says Mr. Boois.

According to Mr. Gilbert Boois, WBCG’s Projects Manager, the development of Green Hydrogen is a key activity of Namibia’s national development plans, such as the Harambee Prosperity Plan II, and will also lead to the realisation of Namibia’s ambition of being the preferred Logistics Hub for southern Africa. “Logistics is critical to green hydrogen simply because the capacity of a logistics hub is required to support this initiative. If you have a large development project, such as envisaged national green hydrogen project, the demand for logistics services will be higher,” he says.

As a potential net exporter of renewable hydrogen, Namibia awarded Hyphen Hydrogen Energy to develop the country’s first green hydrogen project. The Namibian Government put in place a competitive and transparent process to maximise national benefits and lay the groundwork for long-term participation in the growing green hydrogen and ammonia market.

During a two-day Green Hydrogen Conference in August 2022, the Green Hydrogen Commissioner James Mnyupe announced that four green hydrogen pilot projects will benefit from 30 million Euros (approximately N$500 million) in German Government funding to boost hydrogen production and decarbonise, amongst others, the transport and logistics sector. These pilot projects include decarbonizing various port equipment and facilities at the Port of Walvis Bay, as well as converting an existing tugboat to run on hydrogen fuel, a first in Africa. Meanwhile, TransNamib, the national rail company, will undertake a project to convert two locomotives to use hydrogen as fuel by repowering locomotives with new rail engines that are hydrogen ready. 

“The goal of developing Namibia’s green hydrogen industry is to be among the top 10 Global Exporters of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia in order to achieve Namibia’s socioeconomic goals, which will ultimately contribute to Namibia’s vision of becoming the preferred Logistics Hub for Africa,” Mr. Boois concluded.