Namibia’s Green Industrialisation Agenda has received a significant boost with the announcement of four new Team Europe initiatives, collectively amounting to EUR 36,9 million (NAD 730 million), during an official signing ceremony held alongside the Global African Hydrogen Summit in Windhoek last week.
Hosted by Namibia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Hon. Tom Alweendo, the event saw the participation of high-level dignitaries, including Kadri Simson, European Union (EU) Commissioner for Energy; Tinne Van der Straeten, Belgian Minister of Energy; Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary in the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Mr Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), and Janneke Vrijland, Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Pretoria.
Among the projects announced is the EU-GET.transform Country Window Namibia which is co-financed by the European Union, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Austria. Working in close partnership with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Electricity Control Board (ECB), and the Namibia Power Cooperation (NAMPOWER) and the Regional Electricity Distributors, the programme provides €2.7 million in technical assistance for enabling the investment into necessary infrastructure for renewable energy generation, transmission, and storage to reach the targets of reducing import dependency and achieving universal energy access by 2040.
German State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth emphasised, “Namibia holds immense potential to lead Africa’s continental renewable energy transition. Through the EU-GET.transform initiative, we are honoured to support this vision. And we are committed to supporting Namibia not only in its own energy transition but also to play a significant role in the rapidly growing global green hydrogen market, as green hydrogen will play an essential role in the green and sustainable decarbonisation of the global economy. While significant progress has been made, ongoing cooperation is vital to achieve these ambitious goals.”
During the ceremony, EU Commissioner Simson announced a significant new commitment of EUR 25 Million in grants of the European Union to support the Namibian Green Industrialisation Agenda. Further announcements included a EUR 8.8 million commitment from the Netherlands, Germany and the EU to support the Namibian Green Hydrogen Programme (NGHP), which is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the ambitious Namibian Green Hydrogen Strategy and the Green Industrialisation Blueprint. Germany’s BMWK and Namibia’s Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade also signed into an institutional partnership to develop a regulatory framework and quality infrastructure for Namibia’s Green Hydrogen Economy.
These initiatives highlight the comprehensive collaboration between Namibia and its European partners in driving sustainable energy and green transition efforts, as well as accelerating the creation of decent Namibian jobs in these sectors.
EU Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, stated, “The announcements today reaffirm the commitment under the EU Global Gateway Strategy and by Team Europe to support Namibia in realizing the late President Geingob’s vision of becoming a global hub for green hydrogen production and a leader in the global decarbonization agenda. These initiatives also mark critical milestones in the implementation of the Strategic Partnership on Green Hydrogen and CRM Value Chains, signed in 2022. They will contribute to reinforcing our commercial relations in the green hydrogen and critical raw materials sectors, increase employment opportunities in Namibia and help both Namibia and the EU undergo their green transitions.”
In his concluding remarks at the Summit, Hon. Tom Alweendo expressed his gratitude for the continued cooperation with European partners and emphasised the importance of sustained collaboration to achieve Namibia’s green energy ambitions.
