- The South West African Republic of Namibia seeks to become the sustainability hub of Africa.
- The initial production of green hydrogen was expected to begin in 2026, and the first full-scale plant should be completely operational by 2030.
On Wednesday, Namibia Investment Promotion & Development Board executive director of investments and new ventures, François van Schalkwyk, stated that the SouthWest African Republic of Namibia seeks to become the sustainability hub of Africa and aims to become the first carbon-neutral country on the continent. He said this while addressing an Invest in Namibia Roundtable, a side event of the Africa Energy Indaba, held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. He added, “We believe our energy mix will be predominantly green by 2040. Namibia has high, constant wind speeds, particularly on the south coast. It has the highest potential [in the world] for PV [photovoltaic solar] output.”
Currently, the country has to import 50% to 60%, and even 70%, of its electricity from the neighbouring countries of South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. But Namibia now had online 160 MW of renewable energy capacity (generated by independent power producers, or IPPs), with another 214 MW in the pipeline (both IPPs and NamPower will produce that). These renewable projects included both wind and PV plants.
One essential function of renewable energy in Namibia would be to produce green hydrogen and ammonia, stressed Van Schalkwyk. Initial production of green hydrogen was expected to begin in 2026. The first full-scale plant should be completely operational by 2030. It would have a 5 GW renewable energy supply, plus 3 GW from electrolysis, producing up to 300 000 t/y of green hydrogen and ammonia. He added, “We are confident we can produce green hydrogen for between N$25 and N$33. We’re quite confident we’ll be one of the cheapest locations, alongside, perhaps, Chile, to produce hydrogen.”