Director General of the National Planning Commission, Kaire Mbuende, says Namibia is seeking targeted international partnerships to strengthen the technical capacity and export infrastructure required for its green hydrogen and broader green industrialisation ambitions.
Speaking at the World Hydrogen Summit 2026 in Rotterdam, Mbuende said Namibia is engaging different development partners to support key areas of the green hydrogen value chain, including engineering systems, vocational training and export logistics infrastructure.
He said Germany is being targeted for technical cooperation focused on engineering expertise, vocational training systems and project preparation support needed to advance complex industrial and energy projects.
Mbuende added that Dutch partners are expected to play a central role in logistics systems design, port planning and water management infrastructure required to support large-scale hydrogen production and export operations.
He said Namibia’s industrialisation strategy requires simultaneous investment in both production systems and export infrastructure to prevent future bottlenecks.
“Germany can support technology, vocational training, applied research, offtake development and project preparation,” Mbuende said.
He said the success of Namibia’s green industrialisation agenda depends on structured technical and institutional partnerships capable of supporting projects from early-stage planning through to implementation.
Mbuende added that development finance institutions will also need to play a major role in funding early-stage infrastructure linking production zones to export corridors and industrial users.
“Development finance institutions can help address the early-stage risk profile of first-of-a-kind projects,” he said.
According to Mbuende, this type of financing is particularly important for infrastructure projects that may not initially be commercially viable but are necessary to support long-term industrial development and export systems.
He said Namibia’s green hydrogen programme is therefore being structured around coordinated investment in production capacity, logistics systems and cross-border trade infrastructure to improve project bankability and export readiness.
Mbuende warned that without aligned infrastructure development, Namibia risks facing major constraints between production sites and export terminals as the sector scales up.
