Namibia and the European Union have approved the roadmap for their strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials’ value chains and renewable hydrogen. As such, Namibia’s ambitions are going to be supported by investments totalling just over N$20 billion (€1 billion) from the European Union (EU), its member states and European financial institutions.
This roadmap endorsement happened at the just-concluded inaugural Global Gateway Forum (GGF) in Brussels, Belgium.
Furthermore, to promote southern African economic growth and integration, the EU has pledged to fund research to examine how to optimally utilise the Port of Walvis Bay as a logistics and industrial hub.
The GGF focused on the EU’s global gateway strategy and its role in promoting global investment in infrastructure, centred on priority themes of digital, energy and climate, transport, health as well as education and research.
President Hage Geingob was invited by European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen as an acknowledgment for Namibia’s leadership in the shift to greener energy sources. At the GGF, he participated in various engagements.
In November last year, Namibia and the EU entered into an agreement establishing a strategic partnership on sustainable raw materials’ value chains, including renewable hydrogen. The endorsed roadmap is for 2023 to 2025.
Commenting on the roadmap, Von der Leyen said: “Thanks to its abundant renewable energy potential, Namibia is becoming a frontrunner in the green hydrogen space. The EU is proud to be a partner in this transformative journey towards green industrialisation. Together, we can further decarbonise our economies, create jobs and ensure a more prosperous and greener future for our societies”.
Geingob noted that Namibia is cognisant that to fully capture the opportunity at hand, it must mobilise fit-for-purpose capital which appropriately prices risk to optimise the cost of said capital. This is a key element which will form the cornerstone of this transformative partnership with the EU, said the President.
The actions in the roadmap follow the six pillars of the 2022 agreement, which includes the integration of value chains.
“The cooperation is to leverage environmental, social and governance criteria, including by mapping and assessing abandoned mines and supporting Namibia in using earth observation and remote sensing methods for resource exploration, land use planning and management,” reads the EU statement from Brussels.
On regulatory alignment, the EU aims to support Namibia in developing a national strategy for critical raw materials, and enacting legislation for synthetic fuels to create an enabling environment for hydrogen and a synthetic fuels industry, as well as to ensure compatibility with international green fuels, certification and standards.
During his engagement this week at GGF, Geingob said neither Namibia nor the EU will settle for trading in unprocessed commodities. Therefore, the President emphasised that value-addition to Namibia’s natural resources and technology transfer are key priority areas of focus.
According to the Namibian Green Hydrogen Strategy, global demand for hydrogen and its derivatives is expected to soar from an estimated 140 million tonnes per annum in 2030 to 660 million tonnes per annum in 2050.
“In other words, the global market for these green molecules compels us to act with speed. Namibia is well-positioned to help fill the anticipated global and European hydrogen demand supply gap, and lower the cost of the net-zero transition. However, natural endowments and infrastructure alone will not suffice,” Geingob added.
On the margins of the GGF, Namibia and the EU also held a two-day business forum in Brussels.
Geingob observed that his delegation received feedback from project developers calling for an appropriately-crafted and targeted off-take support mechanism for green energy.
Photo: EU
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