STAFF WRITER
PROGRAM Head of the Namibia Green Hydrogen Program James Mnyupe says Namibia’s green hydrogen production dream has now morphed into reality creating brighter prospects for job creation and industrialisation.
“We have now moved from a point where this was just a dream to an industry that is now creating jobs . We are excited at the opportunity of being able to create jobs for a government that has supported us,” Mnyupe told Namibia Business Review on Thursday.
He said the hydrogen industry has contributed significantly to industrial growth in Namibia.
“The prospects of expected income to Namibia continue to change and we are very happy with that .Just like demand for gold , diamonds etc continues to change because of market value, our industry is not different. There are several conversations on how green hydrogen can benefit Namibia, we have moved away from molecular supplies but collaboration with different markets on value chains,” he said.
His sentiments come at a time when a number of green hydrogen projects are taking off.
So far the Daures Green Hydrogen village is operational, Cleanergy project is taking shape while the Hyphen energy project has also shaped up.
“The industry is dynamic and what is most exciting is that we are at the cutting age of the developing green hydrogen industry. We want to allow Namibian minds to decide what they want to do. Some might want to use ammonia in producing fertilizer , some might want to use it to produce explosives so there are a lot of options that we can take,” Mnyupe said.
REGULATION
Mnyupe also told Namibia Business Review that the current Namibian legal framework covers the regulation of the different facets of the green hydrogen industry.
According to Mnyupe there are several components of the green hydrogen that are catered for by Namibian law including electricity production, water usage, transportation of hazardous gases among many.
“There are plethora of legislations that already cover most of the components of green hydrogen. We already have many companies that have been transporting gas , green hydrogen and many other components in for a very long time so the green hydrogen industry is not necessarily a new concept in Namibia. The only thing is that we are now in a position where we will be producing and selling instead of importing,” he said.
The Green Hydrogen Program Head of Namibia also emphasised the need for continued sensitisation of Namibians from all walks of life to understand not only the industry but potential benefits that will be accrued from it.
“Of course some laws need to be tweaked to cover some of the components ,some new ones might need to be created byt to put it simply the law does sufficiently cover all the components of the industry,”Mnyupe said.
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