National Green Hydrogen Roadshow promotes green hydrogen benefits in southern regions

Staff Reporter

The National Green Hydrogen Roadshow made stops in the Hardap and //Kharas regions this week to raise awareness about Hyphen Hydrogen Energy’s (Hyphen) Green Hydrogen project, particularly the project’s Socio-economic Development (SED) Framework.

This roadshow, initiated in August and concluding in November, is a collaborative effort between the government and Hyphen. Its primary objective is to facilitate engagement between government officials, Hyphen representatives, and various stakeholders in Namibia. It also aims to raise awareness about the SED Framework.

Hyphen explained that the SED Framework is an integral part of the Feasibility and Implementation Agreement (FIA), which outlines the government’s intention to incorporate socio-economic development targets for green hydrogen developers in the implementation of Namibia’s green hydrogen strategy.

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According to Hyphen, the SED Framework goes beyond the existing legal requirements in Namibia and underscores Hyphen’s dedication to maximizing the involvement of Namibians in the project.

“The SED Framework sets out the process to agree the project’s targets in respect of employment, local procurement, skills development and enterprise and supplier development—the combined breadth of which has not previously been part of infrastructure or natural resource agreements concluded by government,” Hyphen said.

The project is expected to generate approximately 15,000 new jobs during the construction phase and 3,000 permanent positions during its operational phase, with the goal of filling around 90% of these roles with Namibian nationals. Hyphen is also striving for a 30% local procurement rate for goods, services, and materials throughout both the construction and operational phases.

“The Hyphen project is being developed as the first step in the implementation of the government’s strategy to establish a large-scale green hydrogen industry in Namibia to support economic growth in the country with a total investment of US$10 billion. This is roughly the equivalent of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Profit (GDP),” Hyphen added.

The roadshow will journey to North-eastern Namibia next, stopping by Zambezi Region’s Katima Mulilo on 18 September, Kavango East Region’s Rundu on 19 September, and Kavango West’s Nkurenkuru on 20 September.