The southern corridor development initiative in the //Kharas region, aims to produce 300 000 tonnes of pure green hydrogen and green ammonia by 2030 for local and international markets.
The initiative includes the first large scale green hydrogen project launched during COP26 led by the Franco-German consortium Hyphen Hydrogen Energy.
This was revealed at the Namibia green hydrogen investment forum, organised by the embassy of Namibia in Paris last week. At the occasion, Namibia’s ambassador to France Albertus !Aochamub said the meeting brought together investors and players in the hydrogen sector, enabled the unveiling of opportunities in the Namibian sector and establishment of solid partnerships with companies across the value chain to meet the needs of the African market.
“By organising the investment forum, Namibia aims to bring together strategic players in the hydrogen industry to highlight the investment opportunities in the country and the urgency of accelerating decarbonisation of the energy system,” explained !Aochamub.
It was also stated that production would commence in 2026 with a two-gigawatt renewable energy production unit, rising to five gigawatts in subsequent years, plus a three gigawatt electrolysis complex. The total cost for the project is estimated at US$9.4 billion.
Chairman of the Namibian National Green Hydrogen Council, Obeth Kandjoze, added Namibia expects significant economic benefits in the long-term, positioning itself as a leading distributor for southern Africa and Europe.
“Namibia has all the capacity and infrastructure to forge a major plan to transform the energy sector in Africa and develop strong cooperation with the European Union,” noted Kandjoze.
Furthermore, as the sector that has been receiving too much attention, green hydrogen commissioner James Mnyupe yesterday showcased the various applications received by the Namibia and German pilot projects which was launched in March this year.
He was speaking at the Namibian House at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland taking place from 22-26 May 2022. The first ever Namibian house was established to hold different events and discussions centred on Namibian investment prospects.
“When we closed the programme applications, we got more than 25 pilot project applications from both governments, we were surprised by such interest,” said Mnyupe.
Winners of the pilot projects were to be announced yesterday but due to a lot of applications, the commissioner said the announcement is postponed.
He added once the country starts building the green hydrogen projects, it will start unlocking other complementary infrastructure investments.
- mndjavera@nepc.com.na