Namibia is targeting the use of low-cost renewable electricity to expand domestic mineral refining and manufacturing as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on raw-material exports and capture more value from its natural resources.
Namibia Green Hydrogen Programme Interim Head Joseph Mukendwa said the country’s world-leading solar resource and strong wind potential could provide the electricity required to support energy-intensive industries, including mineral processing, green steel and fertiliser production.
Speaking at the African Green Industries Summit 2026 in Swakopmund, Mukendwa said Namibia needs to use its renewable energy advantage to build domestic industrial capacity rather than primarily exporting raw resources.
“The question we need to ask ourselves is: will we continue to export, or will we produce the molecules and electrons that we can then utilise to industrialise and export green steel, fertilisers and manufactured products?” he said.
According to the World Bank’s Global Photovoltaic Power Potential by Country assessment, Namibia ranks first globally for average practical solar PV power potential.
Mukendwa said this provides an opportunity to generate low-carbon electricity that could be channelled into domestic mineral processing.
“We have uranium as well as elements. How can we utilise the excess low-cost electricity, low-carbon electricity that is generated to ensure that we can refine these minerals here?” he said.
The strategy would expand Namibia’s green industrialisation drive beyond the production and export of green hydrogen to industries that use renewable electricity and hydrogen as inputs.
Mukendwa said opportunities also exist to manufacture some of the equipment required by the green hydrogen industry locally, including solar panels and electrolysers.
“We have an opportunity to ensure that we can potentially manufacture some of those inputs here,” he said.
Developing these industries, however, will require significant investment in electricity generation and transmission, water supply and common-user infrastructure.
Mukendwa said work is underway on a Green Industrialisation Policy, common-user infrastructure, environmental and social assessments, project financing and measures to develop a domestic ecosystem capable of participating in emerging green industrial value chains.
Erongo Governor Natalia /Goagoses said the expansion of green industries must translate into jobs, skills and business opportunities for Namibians rather than investment benefits being concentrated outside local communities.
“Green industrialisation must create real, lasting and sustainable benefits for our people. It must create jobs, not only jobs, but decent jobs for our youth,” she said.
“It must develop skills, and it must strengthen local businesses, Namibian-owned businesses.”
Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board Interim Chief Executive Officer Julia Muetudhana said turning the country’s green industrial ambitions into actual investments will also require developers to present commercially viable and investment-ready projects.
She said project developers must demonstrate viability, identify risks and clearly address market, financing, environmental and social requirements.
“Let us allow projects not to remain presentations in our country. Let us turn presentations and proposals into conversations, conversations into investment, and investment into valuable national development outcomes,” Muetudhana said.
