Namibia advances green hydrogen ties
Namibia participated in the Africa Green Hydrogen Summit in Cape Town, where governments, development partners, investors, technology providers and project developers discussed the development of green hydrogen and Power-to-X projects.
The summit was held on 15 and 16 September and focused on moving green hydrogen projects from national strategies towards implementation, with discussions covering financing, technology, skills, localisation and business models.
The Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme (NGH2P) was represented by interim head of programme Joseph Mukendwa and manager for external affairs and communications Jona Musheko.
Ahead of the official opening, the NGH2P participated in a technical leadership engagement involving South Africa's Green Hydrogen Just Energy Transition Investment Plan programme management office, the European Union, Germany, Denmark, GIZ and private-sector participants.
The discussions covered market conditions for green hydrogen, business models, technology, financing and skills, as well as localisation and cooperation between African and European partners.
Mukendwa also participated in a panel titled “From National Strategies to Delivery Institutions: What Governments Need to Build to Get to Gigawatts”.
The discussion brought together representatives from South Africa, Kenya and the African Green Hydrogen Alliance and focused on institutional coordination, project support and investment mobilisation.
A separate regional integration panel examined cooperation between Namibia and South Africa's Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape.
The session considered infrastructure, industry and investment links between the four areas in the context of a wider Western Southern African Development Community hydrogen ecosystem.
The NGH2P also participated in a GIZ-led discussion on green hydrogen, batteries and critical minerals, with discussions covering localisation, beneficiation, employment and regional value creation.
Financing
The summit included several financing announcements related to green hydrogen and related projects.
The European Union announced a €20 million grant for South Africa, with potential to mobilise a further €200 million through Germany's KfW development bank.
A further €37 million was announced through the EU's Global Gateway initiative.
The African Development Bank announced US$20 million in reimbursable grant funding for projects in Morocco, Egypt, South Africa and Namibia.
The financing commitments were presented as measures to support emerging projects and reduce investment risks in the green hydrogen sector.
The summit brought together stakeholders from across government, development finance, industry and the private sector to discuss project development, financing and regional cooperation in green hydrogen and Power-to-X.
