Namibia's green hydrogen ambitions continue to advance with a new partnership aimed at strengthening local participation in the sector.
Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, Enertrag and GIZ signed an N$11 million cooperation agreement to support enterprise and supplier development under the Hydrogen Ramp-up Programme.
The agreement marks the rollout of an Enterprise and Supplier Development Programme, which is aimed at building the capacity of Namibian businesses to participate in the green hydrogen value chain.
The initiative will provide skills development, technical support, access to finance, and partnerships, enabling local companies to meet industry standards and compete in large-scale projects.
"We made a commitment to the government of Namibia when we awarded this concession to drive local content and drive local development. And this project is a demonstration of that commitment together with GIZ. This initiative is not limited to only half of Namibia's local content and local partnerships. We're looking to drive these initiatives across the industry, so those projects coming off should be able to benefit from the supply chains and the skill sets and the training and the establishment of local industry that will support this," explained Hyphen Hydrogen Energy CEO Marco Raffinetti.
GIZ's Country Director, Tobias Gerster, emphasised that the programme will support early-stage projects, support export-oriented projects in the global south and bring in German technology.
"This is an excellent opportunity for Namibia to expand value addition around minerals and thus contribute to increasing the export of processed materials to up to 60% by 2030, as envisaged by NDP6."
Hyphen Senior Manager Johannes Shipepe said the company is committed to ensuring significant local participation of 30% during the construction and operation period.
"If you put that into context at the estimated cost of N$10 million, then that is around US$3 billion; in Namibian terms, it's about N$54 billion."
The National Planning Commission Executive Director, I-Ben Nashandi, said green hydrogen is a key driver of Namibia's economic transformation.
"Under NDP6, green hydrogen is positioned as a strategic driver of economic transformation. Our objective is not only to produce for export but also to develop industrial capacity locally, create jobs locally, and expand Namibia's economic base locally."
As part of the collaboration, a delegation of Namibian businesses will travel to Germany in May to forge practical business partnerships between Namibian and German companies.