Namibia has a $20 billion proposal to export green hydrogen, supported by the EU. Citizens and the environment are concerned about a clandestine tendering process.
With 2.5 million residents and wide stretches of wind- and sun-swept desert, the country in southern Africa offers an abundance of renewable resources.
Rich, densely populated regions like South Korea, Japan, and Europe are in dire need of clean fuel to help decarbonize industries that are difficult to electrify, such steel, shipping, and fertilizers. It’s essential to their net zero plans.
In an effort to take the lead in the worldwide competition for green hydrogen, the European Union started negotiating deals with potential suppliers last year. A highly publicized agreement was made with Namibia during Cop27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
A key component of President Hage Geingob’s economic agenda is harnessing wind and solar energy for export. More than its $12 billion GDP in 2022, Namibia is aiming to invest $20 billion in green hydrogen. The government and the EU are negotiating financing possibilities.
However, the anticipated expansion will come at a cost to nearby communities and ecosystems, just like any other heavy business. Less is known about how common Namibians would profit.
n a months-long investigation, Climate Home News and Oxpeckers visited the site of the flagship project, a $10 billion complex near the southern coastal town of Lüderitz, which is being developed by a Namibia-based company called Hyphen Hydrogen Energy.
The reporter on the ground found a community largely in the dark about the development and nervous about the impact on fishing and tourism. Experts shared frustration at the secretive tender process, scepticism about job prospects for Namibians and concerns for the area’s unique wildlife.
The green hydrogen complex
Perched between the Namib desert and the Atlantic Ocean, Lüderitz is named after a German colonist. It was the centre of a diamond rush in 20th century and of a colonial history that repressed indigenous Africans. Germany officially apologised in 2021 for colonial-era atrocities, recognising them as “genocide”.
Today, its Art Nouveau architecture, fresh seafood and wildlife draws a modest number of tourists, who can visit ghost towns abandoned after the diamond rush. The town is surrounded by the Tsau//Khaeb National Park, home to seals, penguins, flamingoes and ostriches. The park and surrounding lands are off-limits to residents to prevent illegal diamond mining.
Green hydrogen is set to transform the character of this small enclave once again.
Hyphen’s plans show an initial 5GW of wind turbines and solar panels to supply power, according to the project’s factsheet published by the Namibian government. In this arid region, a desalination plant is needed to supply fresh water. An electrolysis plant will split the water into hydrogen and oxygen, before the hydrogen gas is converted into liquid ammonia. A new deepwater port will accommodate tankers to ship the end product around the world. The company aims to produce 300,000 tons of ammonia a year, commissioning the first phase by 2026, Hyphen’s website says.
To build all this, Hyphen expects to bring in 15,000 workers, roughly doubling Lüderitz’s population. Lüderitz Town Council is planning a new town in the desert to house the influx, immediately south of the historic Kolmanskuppe ghost town.
