Namibia is set to mobilise about US$1.7 billion for its green hydrogen programme, marking what officials described as the decisive shift from planning to implementation.
Speaking virtually from Colombia during the Global African Hydrogen Summit, James Mnyupe, Presidential Economic Advisor and Green Hydrogen Commissioner, told delegates: “What we’re doing here at the moment is we’re trying to mobilise Namibia’s share of about US$1.7 billion that we now want to bring home and start deploying into our projects.”
Mnyupe stressed that the period of ideas has now given way to execution.
“Since September 2020 we have been talking about this idea, but this is the year that we actually start building. Daures will soon break ground on its ammonium sulphate plant, while CMB.TECH and Cleanergy Solutions are commissioning Namibia’s first hydrogen service station. Namibia has gone beyond the realm of dreaming. We are now beginning to construct, to produce, and to implement.”
The summit, held in Windhoek under the theme Ambition in Action: Fueling Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution, brought together governments, financiers, industry and civil society. DMG Events organised it in partnership with Namibian authorities, including the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board.
At the closing session, Damian Howard, senior vice president at DMG Events, described the gathering as more than symbolic.
“This is more than an event. It is a movement to unify and empower governments, industry and civil society to drive tangible action,” he said.
Among the Namibian projects showcased was HyIron Green Technologies, which has established what it calls the world’s first zero-emissions industrial iron plant in Arandis, Erongo.
Johannes Michels, HyIron’s managing director, told delegates that in April last year, they started construction of the world’s first industrial production of iron at zero emissions.
Around 400 Namibians built the plant, and in April this year, our minister and the president pressed the button to produce the world’s first green iron.”
HyIron currently produces around 15,000 tonnes of green iron annually and is now scaling up.
Michels confirmed a new partnership: “It took just three weeks to draft and finalise the contract. Today, Toyota builds 10 million cars every year. For us, it is a massive task, but one that we are proud to take on with Namibians, especially young Namibians, as partners in industrialisation.”
He also pointed to Namibia’s advantage under Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): “That is why today the car manufacturers and the big industrial players look to Namibia, because we can supply green products without extra costs.”
Mnyupe said the Toyota deal was a signal of confidence in Namibia’s green hydrogen and industrialisation strategy.
“This agreement shows that Namibia can forge industrial linkages at the highest global level. It demonstrates that our projects are not only technically feasible but commercially viable.”
By the summit’s close, Namibia could point to three concrete milestones: the mobilisation of US$1.7 billion, the ground-breaking and commissioning activities at Daures and Cleanergy, and the HyIron–Toyota agreement linking Namibian green iron directly to global supply chains.
In Michels’s words: “We will be a meaningful partner to the world.”
