Fortescue Future Industries (FFI), has made a commitment to a 2022 offer to collaborate with the Namibian government on an investment in the country’s Green Hydrogen industry through a 50-50 partnership.
FFI Chief Executive Officer Mark Hutchinson was in the country on Friday and held closed door discussions with President Hage Geingob at State House.
The discussions were to further deliberate on the modalities of how the proposed 50-50 Green Hydrogen Joint Venture can be rolled out, including the terms and conditions as well as the acquisition of prime operational land.
“President Geingob recognised the potential of Green Hydrogen in terms of addressing youth unemployment and stressed the importance of investing and creating job opportunities,” the State House said in a statement.
The company cited increased demand for green hydrogen and green ammonia, a form of renewable energy to which the world is venturing as it shifts from fossil fuels, seeing that Namibia has the potential to serve as the global energy hub, as one of its major drives to assist Namibia.
According to details laid out by the company in a letter to Geingob after the Davos meeting in May last year, FFI is seeking to develop a large-scale multibillion dollar industrial investment spanning the entire energy sector and green hydrogen value chain, including downstream processing of industry product such as fresh water glass, aluminum, green iron, green steel, green ammonia, green fertilisers, green methanol, green jet oil.
The partnership according to initial details, will create huge industries and employment opportunities, and it is through working together that Namibia’s ambitions of becoming Africa’s centre for green industry and green energy can be realised.
The JV is sought to include features and interests that would maximise Namibia’s wind and solar resource potential.
It will further focus on associated green products which are planned to be established in a large area to be controlled by the state, while in return the govt would grant preferred development status for all relevant undertakings to enable the agents to be able to obtain all necessary permits and approvals.
The green industry seeks to employ tens of thousands of Namibians and proposes to establish training facilities.
FFI, a subsidiary of Fortescue Metal Group, is a global green energy company committed to producing green hydrogen, containing zero carbon, from 100% renewable sources.
FFI is leading the green industrial revolution, developing technology solutions for hard-to-decarbonise industries, while building a global portfolio of renewable energy, green hydrogen and green ammonia projects.
FFI is also leading the world effort to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors and is responsible for the proposed decarbonisation of one of the biggest resources companies, Fortescue Metals Group, by 2030. The group is heavily involved in the mining of Iron Ore.
This comes as Namibia is banking its abundance of sunlight and wind resources, in which it seeks to be Africa’s leading energy distributor and being self-reliant through the development of Green Hydrogen projects.
So far four pilot projects have been initiated which include a N$200 billion Hyphen Green Hydrogen to be situated in the South. A Feasibility Implementation Agreement to determine its viability is being rolled out, and this project has the potential to create up to 15,000 jobs.
If all goes well, Green Hydrogen projects have the potential of attracting more than US$6 billion in foreign direct investment which is anticipated to generate annual revenues in excess of US$800 million, while also contributing to its much-anticipated Sovereign Wealth Fund.
