‘I want to leave the country in good shape’

President Hage Geingob said he visited multiple green hydrogen project sites at the coast yesterday so he could “see everything before I hand over, so that I can leave this country in good shape”.

Geingob was speaking while visiting Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) at Walvis Bay, which along with its Lüderitz counterpart, is set to play a key role in the country’s green hydrogen sector.

“These days Namibia is very popular around the world. Namibia is in demand. I am glad that we are now talking about the future energy source. I am glad that you are preparing because you will be playing a very important role,” Geingob said.

He said it has not been an easy time for the country.

“There were droughts, economic downturns and Covid-19. It was really a crisis, but things have changed. By the time that I leave, the country will be in good shape,” he said.

Namport chief executive officer Andrew Kanime assured Geingob the port was ready, and that both the port of Walvis Bay and the port of Lüderitz will have a critical role to play when it comes to green hydrogen.

He said Namport was working hard to prepare for construction material such as wind turbines and solar panels to be imported for green hydrogen projects.

Additional responsibilities, he said, include the ports ensuring they have appropriate port-based green hydrogen infrastructure, such as sufficient land to accommodate the private sector that is required for the industry.

The port of Walvis Bay has a south port for importing cargo, while the northern port will house the required infrastructure needed to produce green hydrogen.

The southern port is currently fully utilised, while the northern port, which is the latest edition, has 1 335 hectares (ha) – of which 350 ha have been set aside for green hydrogen and 100 ha for clean energy.

“The development of the green hydrogen industry is actually enabling our port to transition to become Namibia’s industrial hub or green energy hub. The existing jetty at the northern port is sufficient to export green hydrogen out of Walvis Bay, but also to provide bunkers.We are quite excited as a port to transition ourselves from being a mere traditional seaport to becoming a catalyst for Namibia’s growth and that of the region at large,” he said.

The port has entered into a collaboration agreement with the port of Rotterdam in The Netherlands and the port of Antwerp in Belgium for assistance in setting up green energy and industrial hubs in Namibia.

Kanime said that with Hyphen Hydrogen Energy setting up a project, the port of Lüderitz will be utilised.

He said the current port is fully utilised and there is a need to expand the infrastructure in order to allow Hyphen to import cargo.

“We visited Lüderitz last week to engage the community for an environmental impact assessment study. We are happy that the public is asking questions on when we will start with the extension.

“By 2028, a piece of land of more than 800 ha will be made available. We are geared to ensure that construction material and project cargo can be brought to the country, but for us to be in the position to export, further investment needs to be done in both the Walvis Bay and Lüderitz ports” he said.

Among other places visited by the president was the Walvis bay Oil Storage facility, and the Orano Desalination plant.

Green hydrogen commissioner James Mnyupe said Namibia is committed to facilitating a just energy transition, aiming to mitigate climate change by decarbonising industries.

To achieve this, he said hard-to-decarbonise sectors must transition to cleaner fuels, reducing emissions associated with conventional hydrocarbon-based fuels.

Mnyupe pointed out that the Erongo region possesses all the essential prerequisites to make this transition feasible.

“In addition to the region’s natural endowments, the government has made strategic investments that ensured that the region has best in class infrastructure which enables the cost effective evacuation of these products to their desired regional and international destinations,” Mnyupe said.