The “Localizing Green Industries in Namibia” study, conducted by Systemiq from December 2023 to May 2024, was officially launched at a side event during the Global African Hydrogen Summit on 03 September 2024, held at the Mercure Hotel.
The session aimed to present and discuss the study’s outcomes and recommendations with key stakeholders from both the government and the private sector. The events objectives included presenting the study’s findings and exploring how they can inform future Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for the development of green hydrogen projects in Namibia. Additionally, it sought to facilitate a Government-to-Business (B2G) dialogue on advancing Namibia’s green hydrogen sector.
Kornelia Shilunga, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, officially launched the study alongside Jochen Flasbarth, the State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Deputy Executive Director of the Ministry of Industrialisation, Michael Humavindu, and James Mnyupe, the Green Hydrogen Commissioner, were also in attendance, in collaboration with the Green Hydrogen Business Alliance Project.
This study was a collaboration between the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade, the Namibian Green Hydrogen Programme, and the Green Hydrogen Business Alliance Project, implemented through GIZ. The study, completed in May 2024, identified actionable steps for green industrialization, with a focus on key industries such as iron, lithium, and rare earth elements.
Moreover, the study highlighted Namibia’s strengths, analyzed global market trends, and provided pathways for overcoming key bottlenecks to unlock green industrial value chains. The results represent a crucial step towards establishing a green industrial base in Namibia. Among the recommendations were leveraging the mining sector’s capabilities as a cornerstone for advancing a unified green industrialization agenda and enacting an enabling legislative framework to unlock Namibia’s green industry potential.
In his opening remarks, Michael Humavindu, The Deputy Executive Director of the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade discussed the theme, Setting the Stage for Green Industrialization in Namibia, “Studies such as these need your special attention to ensure that you start capitalizing on the opportunities that are presented to us” he noted. He further spoke on the industrialization “We have to ensure that green industrialization as a blue-print should serve as an important sub-compass that leads us to new economic opportunities such as renewable hydrogen” he remarked.
Shilunga, the Deputy Minister of Mines and Energy, delivered the keynote address in which she spoke on the role of the ministry and the government “One of the key messages from this study is that Namibia’s mining sector can play a role in our green industrialization plans. We already have a strong mining industry, and by building on this foundation, we can then lead the way in producing green materials that are in high demand worldwide,“ she highlighted.
She further urged the Namibian people to participate in this journey “We need to work together to make this journey a reality, the recommendations in this study will guide us as we move forward with our new projects, especially in the green hydrogen sector which holds great promise for our country. These documents represent our shared commitment to driving forward Namibia’s green industrialization agenda,” she added.
James Mnyupe, the Green Hydrogen Commissioner of Namibia, presented the findings of the study, emphasizing the insights and opportunities from the study, “The study shows the practical steps that the Namibian government and private sector would have to implement to establish a sustainable and competitive industrial sector” he remarked. He further emphasized the benefits of the findings of the study “Green iron is an interesting opportunity to start to start decarbonizing the sectors, but interestingly, not in Germany or China but right here in Namibia,” he stated. Furthermore, he mentioned how Namibia can grow economically “Instead of just exporting lithium concentrate, we could try to process it here and make lithium hydroxide,” he noted.
The findings from this study are expected to shape further discussions around green hydrogen, guiding future focus areas and improvements.