Namibia aims to create 30,000 green jobs by 2030 as government accelerates efforts to position the country as a regional hub for green hydrogen production and low-carbon industrial development.
Speaking at the World Hydrogen Summit 2026 in Rotterdam, Director General of the National Planning Commission, Kaire Mbuende, said Namibia is leveraging its renewable energy resources, ports and mineral reserves to build a modern industrial economy centred around green hydrogen.
“We don’t look at green hydrogen as a narrow energy project. It is at the core of our development agenda as a new frontier of growth and development,” Mbuende said.
He said government is targeting investment across a range of green industrial sectors, including solar panel manufacturing, electrolyser manufacturing, wind turbine manufacturing, lithium refining, rare earth refining, flat glass production, synthetic fuels production and hot briquetted iron production.
According to Mbuende, Namibia has already advanced nine green industrial projects at different stages of development, including Cleanergy Solutions Namibia, Hyphen Hydrogen Energy and HyIron Oshivelo.
“Two of these projects, Cleanergy Solutions Namibia and HyIron Oshivelo, have moved from policy to practical demonstration and production respectively. We are intentionally building an ecosystem of green industries,” he said.
Mbuende stressed that infrastructure development remains critical to supporting Namibia’s hydrogen ambitions, with the ports of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz positioned as strategic export hubs for green hydrogen and related industrial products.
Namibia has already signed strategic partnerships with the Port of Rotterdam and Port of Antwerp-Bruges to strengthen export logistics and connect Namibian production to international markets.
“The opportunity we see with our partners is to connect our green hydrogen ambitions to global markets,” Mbuende said.
Namibia has also secured access to up to US$250 million in concessional climate finance under the Climate Investment Funds Industry Decarbonisation Programme, with a Sectoral Transformation Investment Plan expected to be submitted later this year.
“We invite you to look at Namibia not only as a production location for green hydrogen, but as a future platform for the low carbon industry in Southern Africa. We invite you to move with us from dialogue to implementation,” he said.
