Namibia And South Africa Forge Historic Partnership For Africa’s First Green Hydrogen Pipeline

Namibia’s president, President Nangolo Mumba, has revealed a pioneering collaboration between Namibia and South Africa to develop Africa’s inaugural green hydrogen pipeline.

Namibia currently hosts nine hydrogen projects across two burgeoning hydrogen valleys, with potential for a third linked to its iron ore sector, while South Africa boasts its own extensive national green hydrogen program.

Namibia aims to establish itself as a logistics hub for Southern Africa through initiatives like an ammonia bunkering hub and a green hydrogen-powered train. This announcement was made at the World Hydrogen Forum in the Netherlands, where Namibia also showcased its inaugural exhibition at the World Hydrogen Summit, featuring the Daures Green Hydrogen Village.

Namibia is using this platform to provide updates on all its projects and emerging shared infrastructure in its hydrogen valleys, including plans for a 2,500-kilometer cross-border pipeline from Luderitz to Saldanha.

The partnership between Namibia and South Africa involves the Western Cape Development Agency (Wesgro) and the Northern Cape Economic Development, Trade, and Investment Promotion Agency (NCEDA) from South Africa, alongside Gasunie, a prominent Dutch hydrogen infrastructure developer.

President Mumba stated, “This partnership aims to assess the feasibility of constructing Africa’s inaugural cross-country green hydrogen pipeline, linking Namibia and South Africa, and facilitating significant trade of this new product between our two nations.”