Global African Hydrogen Summit delivers on pledge to fuel Africa’s green industrialisation

From its international soft launch at COP28 UAE in Dubai last December, the “Road to Namibia” campaign in support of the Global African Hydrogen Summit has evolved into a movement to fuel Africa’s green industrial revolution.

Following nine months on the road across Africa and around the world advocating, lobbying and raising awareness, the campaign rolled into its final destination (Windhoek) last week from 3 to 5 September to host the Global African Hydrogen Summit that convened the global hydrogen industry in Namibia.

Guest of honour Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, vice-president of the Republic of Namibia, greeted more than 1 000 attendees at the official opening ceremony of the summit, where she stated: “Namibia is honoured to have been chosen to host the Global African Hydrogen Summit. It is encouraging for me to witness such a diverse gathering of brilliant minds from around the world that have convened here to help us curate rich conversations on these vital topics. Namibia offers a rich and welcoming environment that is well suited to host an impactful green industrialisation eco-system.”

Themed “From Ambition to Action: Fuelling Africa’s Green Industrial Revolution”, the inaugural Global African Hydrogen Summit received resounding praise from governments, public sector agencies, developers, investors and the private sector for having achieved the objectives of all stakeholders.

The summit’s sectoral patron Tom Alweendo, Namibia’s Minister of Mines and Energy, had earlier remarked that the “Global African Hydrogen Summit will be the first platform of its kind to be leveraged by African governments, by investors, financiers, scholars and the public, in order to unlock additional opportunities for our continent and its partners. It will also provide a platform for the global players in the hydrogen value chain to showcase their projects, their plans and technologies to the African continent.”

As a catalyst for driving change, the Global African Hydrogen Summit witnessed 10 Memoranda of Understanding announcements, partnership declarations and deal signings, including:

• €25 million in grants from the European Union to support the Namibian Green Industrialisation Agenda. The initiative, which includes commitments from Germany and the Netherlands, will be channelled via the SDG Namibia One financing vehicle for green hydrogen investment in Namibia, including technical assistance to support long-term energy planning, renewable energy generation and grid integration in collaboration with key Namibian stakeholders including the Namibian Green Hydrogen Programme (NGH2P) and Namibian Standards Institution.
• Zhero announced the launch of a green ammonia gigawatt-scale project in Namibia. With co-developer Envision Energy, it aims to produce 500 000 tonnes annually from 2029.
• GreenGo Energy signed an MoU with local Namibian developer InnoSun Energy Holdings to co-develop solar and wind projects dedicated to green hydrogen production at scale.
• GreenGo Energy announced the signing of an MoU with local Namibian iron mining company, Lodestone. This collaboration will explore innovative solutions to integrate green hydrogen into the steel production process.
• The Namibian Cabinet approved the signing of an MoU on co-operation on renewable energy, clean energy and hydrogen between Namibia and the United States.
• The International Energy Agency is to collaborate with the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Namibia and the NGH2P on renewable energy opportunities for Namibia.
• The Africa Practice and Environmental Defense Fund is to forge strategic partnerships to advance climate action in Africa.
• The Green Maritime Corridors announcement to be launched at COP29 in Azerbaijan.
• Green Hydrogen Organisation and UN High-Level Climate Champions committed to biannual dialogue with CSOs.
• The Green Hydrogen Business Alliance launched “Localising Green Industries in Namibia”.

The summit unlocked the potential of the hydrogen opportunity in Africa and harnessed its projected impact on achieving a sustainable and equitable energy transition globally.

James Mnyupe, presidential economic adviser and head of programme of the NGH2P, summarised that “the summit was a huge success and will come back to Namibia next year from 9 to 11 September 2025.”