Namibia’s draft Green Industrialisation Policy is expected to go out for public consultation within the next few weeks as the country moves to establish clearer regulatory, environmental and investment rules for emerging green hydrogen and energy-related industries.
Eline van der Linden, Head of Impact and ESG at NGH2P, said the policy is intended to translate Namibia’s green industrialisation ambitions into projects, guidelines, laws and regulations that provide greater certainty to investors and project developers.
The policy follows Namibia’s Green Hydrogen Derivatives Strategy developed in 2021 and the Green Industrialisation Blueprint in 2024.
“We need to translate these ambitions and plans into tangible projects, guidelines, laws and regulations for the sector, because businesses need certainty and clarity,” van der Linden said.
“We have received a lot of queries about how this and that will work and whether things will still be the same five years from now.”
She said the draft policy is expected to undergo public consultation in the coming weeks, with the European Union supporting the process.
For the energy sector, the policy is expected to address issues including water supply, land use, common-use infrastructure, environmental approvals, health and safety, skills development and local participation.
Van der Linden said Namibia will need coordinated land-use planning as large-scale renewable energy developments require significant areas of land and could compete with established industries such as mining and tourism.
Strategic environmental assessments are expected to form part of efforts to determine where different industrial and economic activities can be developed without creating conflicting land uses.
Water supply will also be a key consideration for green hydrogen developments.
Van der Linden said hydrogen production should not compete with water required by communities, livestock and agriculture, with desalination being considered as the principal option for supplying the industry.
“We are looking principally at desalination,” she said.
She said common-use infrastructure, which could support multiple industrial projects, would not necessarily follow a single development model.
“We are not foreseeing that there will be one approach. There will be many different approaches to common-use infrastructure,” van der Linden said.
Environmental regulation is also expected to receive greater attention as green hydrogen, renewable energy and related industrial projects move towards development.
Van der Linden said consideration is being given to strengthening the Environmental Management Act, which was last amended in 2017.
“Many years have passed and many changes have happened in society and in the world at large. So we believe it is time for an update to this piece of legislation,” she said.
She said obtaining environmental clearance should also be followed by stronger compliance with commitments contained in environmental and social impact assessments.
Health and safety requirements will be another priority because of the characteristics of products expected to form part of Namibia’s emerging green hydrogen industry.
Van der Linden noted that hydrogen is highly flammable while ammonia is toxic, requiring appropriate safety standards as projects move into development and operation.
The policy will also address the skills and local participation required to support the emerging industry.
“We are looking to create an industry-ready workforce,” she said. “We are not training people just to receive certificates that they hang on the wall. We need people to be productive in our space.”
Van der Linden said the policy is considering a voluntary industry approach rather than immediately imposing fixed participation percentages on private companies, while businesses would be expected to develop socioeconomic development frameworks extending into surrounding communities.
She cautioned, however, that regulatory requirements would need to be balanced against the commercial viability of projects, particularly while green hydrogen production remains expensive.
“We must be careful in our policy setting that we are not putting too many additional requirements on the sector that will decrease their likelihood of success,” van der Linden said.
She said efforts are also being made to secure concessional capital and grants for the sector, while fiscal incentives through the special economic zone are being considered.
The policy is expected to provide a framework for balancing investment and project development with environmental protection, infrastructure requirements, local participation and the commercial viability of Namibia’s emerging green industries.
