Namibia’s Green Hydrogen sector is poised to become a significant source of revenue for the government, with estimates suggesting an annual income of N$10 billion.
Green Hydrogen Commissioner James Mnyupe announced the country’s ambitious goal to generate substantial revenue from this emerging sector in the coming years.
Mnyupe highlighted the potential economic impact of the sector, stating: “Just from this first project alone, we might end up earning between N$10-N$11 billion per annum. That’s about 20% of our current total revenue today as a government.”
He added that this substantial revenue boost could have a fiscally impactful effect on the country, promoting infrastructure development and providing significant employment opportunities.
“Namibia’s green hydrogen vision involves the establishment of three hydrogen valleys across the country. These valleys, located in the //Kharas, Erongo, and Kunene regions, are expected to attract private sector players interested in harnessing Namibia’s abundant wind and solar resources,” Mnyupe said on Monday.
The Commissioner noted that the Erongo Region has already garnered attention from Belgian company CMB.Tech, which has partnered with Ohlthaver & List to form Namibian company, Cleanergy.
Cleanergy is currently developing a pilot green hydrogen fuel station at Walvis Bay.
Cleanergy aims to develop a €2 billion ammonia facility in the Erongo Region, collaborating with NamPort on the North Port facility for ammonia exportation.
Mnyupe said the hydrogen sector’s macro output benefits extend beyond revenue generation, playing a strategic role in unlocking opportunities in sectors such as oil and gas, mining, and various others.
“Notably, the labour-intensive nature of the green hydrogen sector presents a significant advantage, potentially creating up to 15,000 jobs during the construction phase of the first project alone. This scale of job creation surpasses previous large-scale projects in Namibia, such as the Husab construction, which generated approximately 3,000 to 4,000 jobs,” he said.
This comes as the government recently signed a Feasibility and Implementation Agreement with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, paving the way to begin groundwork.
The US$10-billion project is planned to be developed in phases, with full development targeting 350,000 metric tonnes of green hydrogen production per year from approximately 7GW of renewable generation capacity and 3GW electrolyser.
Once fully developed, the project will employ an estimated 3,000 people, with 15,000 construction jobs supported over the four-year construction period. Over 90% of these jobs are expected to be filled by local Namibians.
Furthermore, NamPort, the Port of Rotterdam, Hyphen, Gasunie, NamPower, and Invest International also signed a memorandum of understanding for the development of a port at Lüderitz, according to the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises.
