- The Namibian authorities have just signed a “strategic” partnership with the European Union (EU) on raw materials and green hydrogen.
- The EU is banking on this energy for the decarbonisation of its industry.
According to the European Union (EU), Namibia will supply Europe with low-carbon hydrogen. This is the goal of a collaboration established on the sidelines of the just-completed 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Hage Geingob, the president of Namibia, and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, signed the agreement.
The collaboration covers the combined development of the green hydrogen industry and other raw materials. Namibia has a dry climate with lots of sunshine. Therefore, large-scale solar energy production could create low-carbon hydrogen thanks to this inherent capability.
A grant of €5 million will be included with this finance, which will be given by the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Most of these investments will assist European businesses operating in Namibia’s green hydrogen sector. The case of Hyphen Hydrogen Energy is this. Green hydrogen is the target of a 9.4 billion USD investment by a joint venture between Nicholas Holdings and the German energy business Enertrag. With this investment’s first $4.4 billion, 2,000 MW of sustainable energy capacity will be created. Solar and wind power installations will produce electricity on the coast of southwest Namibia, in the Tsau/Khaeb national park. By 2030, the joint venture wants to reach a smelting capacity of 5000 MW.