Germany and Namibia are expanding their cooperation towards the future production of green hydrogen. New projects will be based on specific agreements signed by Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Robert Habeck and Namibia’s Energy Minister Tom Alweendo on the margins of the 2024 Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue. They will further intensify the countries’ existing cooperation on hydrogen and PtX , which was launched in 2022.

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said:
“Namibia offers ideal conditions to make cheap and climate-friendly green hydrogen using wind and solar energy. This opens up completely new economic prospects for Namibia and contributes to developing an international hydrogen market. We want to play a part in this and accelerate the expansion of the green hydrogen economy in Namibia.”

The ministers signed an agreement to support the Green Hydrogen Namibia Programme – the new Namibian green hydrogen organisation – in building local H2 value chains that benefit the local population, developing a national green industrialisation strategy and conducting environmental impact assessments for green hydrogen projects in Namibia.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is also planning a bilateral administrative partnership with Namibia with the support of Germany’s national metrology institute PTB. The aim of the cooperation with the Namibian government authorities is to define technical standards for green hydrogen as well as to advise on laws and standards and train specialists. It additionally serves to support the German government's National Hydrogen Strategy and promote international legal requirements for the safe use of green hydrogen.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is also supporting the German company ENERTRAG by providing a letter of interest for its Hyphen project. This is the largest hydrogen project in sub-Saharan Africa, which is to produce two million tonnes of green ammonia per year for hydrogen production. The Namibian government has commissioned Hyphen Hydrogen Energy, a company in which ENERTRAG holds a stake, to realise the project following an international tender.

Hydrogen is an important element of the global energy transition. In its Hydrogen Strategy, the German government has predicted that total hydrogen demand will reach 95-130 TWh by 2030. A large proportion of this will need to be covered by imports. Namibia’s outstanding wind and solar conditions (an average of 300 days of sunshine per year) and its political and institutional stability make it the ideal location for producing and exporting green hydrogen and its derivatives. At the same time, efforts to develop a green hydrogen economy in Namibia can help foster sustainable development, establish local value chains and create jobs.