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The green hydrogen industry could create more than 250,000 jobs by 2040, said Joseph Mukendwa, head of planning and skills development at the Green Hydrogen Council.
He told a press conference at the commission’s office yesterday that they are currently developing a comprehensive skills development strategy and plan to identify the skills required for the new industries. “We are looking to set up a body with representatives from all these key stakeholders, which we will call the National Task Force on Skill Development, Education and Research,” he said.
“There is a misconception that the green skills required will be very specialised, but based on internal and local research findings, you will find that the skills that are really needed are solar panel installers, wind turbine technicians, health and safety officers, welders, technicians, truck drivers, masons, plumbers and pipefitters,” Mukendwa said.
Join hands
Eline van der Linden, Head of Impact and ESG at the Namibian Green Hydrogen Programme, explained that more than 400 people have been employed in the green hydrogen sector, while approximately N$170 million has been injected into a range of services through various small and medium enterprises (SMEs). While some of these jobs are permanent, most are temporary.
She mentioned that now might be a good time to review the Environmental Management Act to see if it needed to be updated to accommodate the new practices now being implemented.
“We also know that it is extremely difficult to manage environmental programmes given the size of Namibia, so we are looking for some solutions to bring in some officials from other ministries to help with monitoring and control. The Ministry of Agriculture is on the ground and we will be on the ground; maybe we can work together,” she said.
Global Interests
Green Hydrogen Commissioner James Mnyupe said the Hyphen Hydrogen Project had reached several key milestones, including the completion of upfront FEED (front-end engineering design) works and the installation of 10 meteorological masts that are critical for data collection.
According to him, the project has attracted global interest and a memorandum of understanding has been signed to supply more than one million tons of green ammonia per year.
In addition, the HyIron project is scheduled to receive Namibia’s first green iron kiln – a blast furnace – in September, with the project aiming to produce 15,000 tonnes of direct reduced iron per year, setting a new standard for green industrialisation.
Mnyupe added that the recently launched Cleanergy Solutions project is expected to start producing green hydrogen in the last quarter of this year, with 80% of the project now complete.
He noted that the Daus Green Hydrogen Village, which is about to be completed, is expected to start producing green hydrogen and ammonia by the end of this year.
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