Namibia ramps up policies and funding to unlock green hydrogen investments   

By: Hertha Ekandjo

Photo: Contributed

The minister of industries, mines and energy, Modestus Amutse, said Namibia is intensifying targeted policy, financial and regulatory interventions to overcome key barriers in the development of its green hydrogen sector.

Speaking at the just concluded 16th Session of the Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi recently, Amutse said Namibia is prioritising mechanisms that will crowd in private capital and make large-scale green hydrogen and derivative projects bankable.

Amutse said these mechanisms include the use of contracts for long-term offtake agreements to narrow the cost gap between green products and fossil fuel alternatives, providing revenue certainty for investors and lenders.

He said the SDG Namibia One Fund, with a target size of about N$ 16.4 billion, is central to this strategy.

According to Amutse, the main challenge now is converting Namibia’s growing momentum into bankable, locally anchored projects. He said securing long-term binding offtake agreements remains the single most critical hurdle, as green hydrogen projects require predictable revenues to justify multi-billion-dollar capital investments.

He added that Namibia must also close major infrastructure gaps, including port capacity, transmission lines, water supply systems and industrial hubs, to support fully integrated hydrogen value chains.

At the same time, the development of local skills and manufacturing capabilities is essential to ensure the industry delivers tangible socio-economic benefits and is not only export-oriented.

Amutse said strategic partnerships with Germany, the European Union, the Netherlands, Belgium and multilateral climate funds are already providing concessional finance, technical assistance and market access to accelerate project development.

 

Moreover, he noted that

the country needs to close major infrastructure gaps, including port capacity, transmission lines, water supply systems and industrial hubs, to support fully integrated hydrogen value chains.

All major hydrogen initiatives, he said, are aligned with Namibia’s green industrialisation blueprint and National Development Plan 6, which prioritises local manufacturing and beneficiation.

This includes scaling projects such as green iron production at Oshivela, domestic green fertiliser production at Daures, and the establishment of shared industrial hubs around Lüderitz and Walvis Bay to lower costs and attract clusters of industries.