Hyphen Hydrogen Energy has also run into resistance in southern Namibia — not from investors or regulators, but from traditional leaders who say parts of the land earmarked for the US$10 billion green-hydrogen project are sacred.
At the centre of the dispute lies Shark Island, near Lüderitz, a windswept peninsula that once served as a German colonial concentration camp and is regarded by the Nama people as hallowed ground.
Shark Island, a small peninsula jutting into Lüderitz Bay on Namibia’s southern coast, is one of the most tragic sites in the country’s colonial history.
Between 1905 and 1907 it served as one of several German concentration camps established during the Herero and Nama genocide, widely recognised as the first genocide of the twentieth century.
Following the defeat and forced displacement of the Nama and Herero uprisings against German colonial rule, thousands of survivors — men, women, and children — were deported to Shark Island.
They were used as slave labour to build Lüderitz’s harbour infrastructure under brutal conditions of starvation, disease, and exposure. Historians estimate that up to 3 000 Nama and Herero prisoners perished there, their remains often dumped into the Atlantic or shipped to Germany for pseudoscientific study.
The site later became a memorial symbolising the loss, resilience, and historical injustice experienced by Namibia’s indigenous peoples.
Today, remnants of the camp — stone foundations, cemeteries, and memorial plaques — still stand as reminders of the atrocities. Because of this, Shark Island holds deep cultural and emotional meaning for Nama and Herero descendants, who regard it as sacred ground not to be disturbed by industrial or commercial development.
This painful legacy lies at the heart of the current tensions between green-hydrogen ambitions and historical memory.
For many community leaders, the proposed infrastructure near Shark Island is not simply an environmental issue but a moral one — a question of how Namibia chooses to honour its past while pursuing its future.
The company, a Namibian-registered joint venture between Nicholas Holdings of the UK and Enertrag AG of Germany, was awarded the country’s first large-scale green-hydrogen concession in 2021.
The project area covers about 4 000 square kilometres within and adjacent to the Tsau ǁKhaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park, identified by the government as an ideal renewable-energy zone because of its world-class solar and wind potential.
Hyphen plans to use the area’s abundant renewable resources to power electrolysers that will produce up to 300 000 tonnes of green hydrogen annually, primarily for conversion into ammonia for export to Europe.
The development is expected to attract more than N$190 billion in investment and create roughly 15 000 jobs during construction and 3 000 permanent positions once in operation, according to the company and Namibia’s National Green Hydrogen Council.
But as the project advances toward a final investment decision, community opposition has intensified. The Nama Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA) and several heritage groups have protested that the proposed infrastructure — including a new port facility at Lüderitz and other hydrogen-related works near Shark Island — would desecrate historical burial sites and repeat colonial patterns of dispossession.
“Shark Island has historical meaning for us. This is where genocide took place, and it should be protected,” a representative of the NTLA told VOA News in May 2024. The association insists that no development should proceed without full respect for Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for indigenous communities — a principle its lawyers argue should be enforced under Namibia’s environmental-assessment laws.
Government officials counter that the project was granted only after a competitive and transparent tender process and that heritage concerns will be addressed through environmental and social impact assessments. Green Hydrogen Commissioner James Mnyupe has repeatedly said the project “must and will proceed within Namibia’s laws,” emphasising that heritage protection and community participation “are built into every stage of implementation.”
Hyphen itself has pledged continued consultation. In a 2024 statement, the company said it “recognises the cultural significance of Shark Island and the broader area” and is “committed to working with the Nama traditional authorities and local stakeholders to ensure the project delivers inclusive and sustainable benefits.”
Despite these assurances, tension remains high.
Civil-society groups such as the Economic and Social Justice Trust argue that economic promises cannot outweigh the spiritual and historical importance of the land. “You cannot greenwash genocide sites,” the organisation said in an open letter last year.
The dispute has also drawn international attention. The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and several German media outlets have questioned whether Germany’s support for Namibia’s hydrogen ambitions adequately accounts for the colonial legacy in the region.
Critics describe the project as “a new form of energy imperialism,” while supporters in Berlin see it as a cornerstone of Europe’s decarbonisation strategy.
Investor sentiment has shifted, too. In September 2025, the German energy company RWE AG withdrew from advanced talks to purchase ammonia from the Hyphen project, citing slow progress on global hydrogen demand and ongoing controversy around the site’s cultural sensitivities. Officials said Namibia remained in discussions with other potential offtakers.
For now, Hyphen continues with preliminary environmental assessments, engineering design, and community-engagement programmes. The government maintains that no final approvals will be issued without satisfying all legal and environmental requirements.
Still, for many Nama descendants, the issue runs deeper than compliance.
As community elder Johannes Isaack told The Namibian, “Development is welcome, but not on the graves of our ancestors.”
