Taking stock of Harambee’s progress, Part 2

James Mnyupe - Contrary to popular belief, Namibians have the skills to develop renewable energy plants and construct mines, bulk infrastructure and operate various elements of its first green hydrogen project as illustrated by the expectation by the developer that 100% of the jobs during operation can be absorbed by Namibians.

Some elements of this project may be new, but government is encouraging us all to start considering which new skillsets we may need to develop. The minister of higher education and our institutions of higher learning have already responded to this challenge in various ways and the formation of a Namibian Green Hydrogen Research Institute is but one example of the response.

According to the initial estimates of the proposal, beyond the direct impacts that the project is envisaged to create, which are expected to reindustrialise the economy of the !Nami Nûs constituency and the broader //Kharas region, the project is also expected to contribute towards government revenue to the tune of N$3.7 billion million per annum - 6.9% of last year’s total revenue.



OTHER PROJECTS

In addition to the now famous Hyphen project, other projects in this space are emerging.

O&L have found a Belgian partner in CMB.TECH. Their new partnership, Cleanergy, looks to develop a green hydrogen fuel station in Walvis Bay as a pilot and a €2.5-billion ammonia production plant at the coast, which would be decarbonised by a one-gigawatt solar plant to be built in Arandis.

HDF is investigating the deployment of an 85-megawatt solar/hydrogen hybrid powerstation to be built in Swakopmund that could result in a N$3-billion capital expenditure programme.

In 2022, the Namibian government would also expect to receive proposals to build two other pilot projects using hydrogen and its derivatives that could range from mobility, trains, trucks etc. to manufacturing metals, fertilizers etc.

YIELDING RESULTS

In short, the strategic bet to incubate a new synthetic fuels industry is beginning to yield very encouraging results early on.

So much work lays ahead, but it is encouraging to see the global community responding to the vision as encapsulated by His Excellency and his cabinet.

The cherry on top is that this is not a “project” from the Namibian president, but rather a global opportunity with significant momentum and capital behind it, which was recognised early on by the Namibian government which moved nimbly, resolutely and strategically to capture.

The government set-up a website to help inform the local and international community on what the opportunities exist in Namibia and globally. Gh2namibia.com is a resource rich website that any and all Namibians must access should they wish to scour potential opportunities in this area.

The three components of the programme with the BMBF are listed under the JCoI Program tab and if one wanted to understand the engineering aspects of Namibia’s natural endowment that makes it a unique resource, one can access two pre-feasibilities studies under the Downloads section.

A must read for Namibians looking to appreciate why hydrogen is now a geopolitical focus in the energy transition, is a document from IRENA, titled “Geopolitics of the Energy Transformation: The Hydrogen Factor”.

Namibia features heavily in the paper and that is testament to government’s efforts to contribute to the global decarbonisation agenda.

Namibia has executed three agreements with Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and more are in the pipeline, most notably of which is an MoU with the European Union envisioned to be executed at COP27 in Egypt this November.

These agreements are critical to de-risk the development of this industry in Namibia, with concessionary funding, off-take agreements and collaboration on policy formulation being at the heart of most of these documents.

Back home, the Namibian President has been deliberate in executing an inclusive information campaign, keeping the cabinet briefed and even going as far as inviting all political parties to State House for a personal briefing on the vision of the project and the broader envisioned synthetic fuels industry.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the Namibian government has displayed a commendable level of innovation, resolve and determination to unlock new opportunities to industrialise Namibia, create employment and crowd in local and international private sector funding and expertise to deliver the socio-economic outcomes that are incapsulated in Vision 2030.

At the core of these objectives, greater sovereign autonomy remains a fundamental aspiration.

Within this opportunity, Namibia has a realistic chance of becoming energy independent and in the process save N$3 billion in foreign reserves we spend to import power every year, contribute to a regional decarbonisation agenda and earn enough stable foreign income, that dare I say could one day allow us to realistically moot floating our own currency?

This is but just the beginning of what promises to be a very exciting journey. We would implore all Namibians to rally behind this president and government, get informed and where possible get involved, deploy risk capital and build the nation that we all want to live in.

I already have, I hope you join us too!