Green hydrogen is a complex new industry. Although its projects are not easy to realise, it inevitably holds transformational opportunities for many natural and corporate citizens of Namibia. 

This was part of the message by the Green Hydrogen Council chair, Obeth Kandjoze. 

He was responding to concerns that the emerging sector is being used to lobby for foreign direct investment, and that its domestic implementation could irreversibly damage pristine wilderness areas. 

In a recent commentary, local economist Rowland Brown cautioned about the inherent risks surrounding the green hydrogen sector. 

“We further note that Namibians should hope that the hydrogen hype delivers. However, using Namibian public funds for this is nothing short of reckless, especially given the ample other, very real, demands on the public purse. Using Namibian taxpayers funds, whether from the revenue of today or through borrowing from the future, should be an absolute redline,” he stated. 

However, Kandjoze noted that global warming and climate change are not merely the concerns of a few lobby groups, but rather serious threats to humanity’s livelihood, recognised by 196 countries, including Namibia. 

“It is therefore regrettable to see Rowland Brown’s article, downplaying the impact this global crisis has on Namibians, suggesting that it may be a lobby-driven hoax to push for renewable energy investments. Mocking the plight of Namibians, especially in a country that is 90% arid and identified as one of the most vulnerable to climate change, during a severe drought that is devastating the most vulnerable among us is most unfortunate,” he stated. 

He added that it is incumbent upon public servants to provide some basic tenets of how this government has pursued social-economic transformation, as it relates to green industrialisation, with green hydrogen as a key catalyst for such an outcome.

He pointed out that from the onset, government emphasised that a private sector-led economic recovery was key. 

He said green hydrogen was not labelled as the option to help Namibia emerge from the debilitating pandemic. 

Instead, he noted green hydrogen was termed as one of the key strategic bets in the second Harambee Prosperity Plan, together with emerging oil and gas industry as well as opportunities in the mining sector, where Namibia is home to several critical raw materials required in the energy transition.

He made these comments from Germany, where officials from that country reconfirmed their commitments to pursue a climate-neutral economy and their commitment to help Namibia establish competitive clean industries that capitalise on the domestic natural resource advantage. 

This is since Namibia started with its green hydrogen ambitions some three years ago. 

“Three years on, Namibia raised more than N$2.2 billion in grant funding, established multiple green hydrogen pilot projects, and has found Namibia elevated to the forefront of global research and development efforts, with various Namibians pursuing postgraduate and doctoral studies in this field,” Kandjoze stated. 

He touched on an additional argument raised by Chris Brown of the Namibia Chamber of Environment (NCE), which he said was further echoed by Rowland Brown, that the fragile biodiversity in the Tsau //Khaeb National Park would be destroyed beyond repair with the establishment of green hydrogen projects. 

“Latest estimates from Hyphen Hydrogen Energy indicate that the project will at most have a 0.07% footprint, and is targeting to reduce this impact further, with over 90% of this impact in the least environmentally sensitive areas of the park. 

“Additionally, every Namibian appreciates that the park is a multi-use park – and as such, has been the economic backbone of the Namibian economy since the early 1900s,” Kandjoze stated. 

He continued that excavating billions of tonnes of earth was required to mine diamonds in the same park, a process that has been crucial to the Namibian economy. 

“Today, more than 0.76% of the park has supported mining activities for diamonds, and currently supports mining prospecting licenses for various minerals, such as rare earth elements – to name but a few. Despite these activities, and with increased focus in recent years on advanced mining and environmental preservation practices, these activities have not destroyed the ecosystem of the park,” he stated. 

He continued: “What should be clear is that government is not building nor funding the five green hydrogen projects currently pursuing feasibility activities. Rather, government merely provided a platform and an invitation (a right to conduct a feasibility study and in the case of one project, access to land, on a compensated basis) for private sector players to explore the technical, environmental and economic feasibility of establishing various clean molecule applications in Namibia”. 

He said should none of these projects prove feasible, the basic law of project finance dictates that they will not unlock the required equity and debt funding to proceed to implementation.